The Visitor
by Raine Moon
Summary: When an owl on a quest to find a trusted friend collapses into Minnesota and lose its ability to fly, a certain redhead and blue macaw take care of the poor owl. However, it is far from being a normal owl. Rated T for violence. Contains GoG elements. R&R
1. A Long Flight

**Well, this is yet but another new beginning for me on another category. This time, I enter the world of Rio with a X-Over with Guardians of Ga'Hoole. But don't worry, I'm not bringing any of the OC from Mrs. Lasky. Instead, my own OC get a play in this fantastic world!**

—

**Chapter 1: A Long Flight**

It was a cold winter's night in Minnesota and one lone owl flew above the city of Moose Lake. How the owl knew about it? Because he had read a sign earlier saying that he was now in the city. He thought that the city bore a strange name.

_'This language is so different from the Hoolian owls' writing_,' the owl thought. '_and the weather is so messed up! Here I thought that the Northern Kingdoms were cold!'_

While he was thinking, the owl never noticed the big sign that was coming ever so closer and hit it head first. Despite the hit being extremely hard, the owl wasn't knocked out. He instead lost his balance and crashed down into a pile of snow. His only problem is that he had something he wanted to do and he couldn't waste any time in doing that task.

"Must ... find ... Mike ...," the owl said, weak and dizzy, just before blacking out.

—

While going through the city, a woman, namely a redhead, was walking through the town, probably out to go buy some things at the grocery. On her way to said market, she couldn't help it but notice a strange white owl in a large pile of snow. Blood covered the snow under the owl. Upon seeing this, the woman quickly went to take the owl in her hands and proceeded into seeing how severe the injuries he had were.

After seeing that the owl seemed to have a concussion and a broken wing, the woman quickly rushed it to the nearest vet, which was also the only one in the town, but unfortunately, it was already full. The receptionist still told her that in three hours or so, there would be a place for the wounded bird. She nodded instantly and thanked the receptionist before going to take a seat in the waiting room.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you," the woman said, patting the owl's head.

Three hours later, the receptionist called out the woman's name, which happened to be Linda, and told her that the vet was ready to see the poor owl. Once again, Linda thanked the receptionist and followed the vet that entered the waiting soon after the receptionist made her announcement to Linda.

"So, what is it this time, Linda? You have some problems with Blu again?" The vet asked.

"No, not this time. As you might have seen, this fella here seems to be seriously wounded," Linda answered.

"Well, then. We'll see what's wrong with this owl."

After thoroughly checking the owl, the vet told Linda that he suffered from a severe concussion. When she asked him how it would affect the owl, he told her that he didn't know. The only thing he was sure of was that the owl would probably never fly again, due to his broken wing. As for the concussion, he affirmed that it could affect the owl instinctively, meaning that it would have to depend on someone to keep on living.

"As of now, I see two possibilities," the vet began. "either we euthanize the poor fella or we give it to someone who will take care of him."

"Then, I'll take care of him!" Linda hastily replied.

"Are you sure? After all, you already have Blu to take care of," the vet stated.

"Ah, you don't need to bother yourself with that! Blu is old enough to understand what's going on and besides, if I don't take this owl with me, who will? I mean, with those scars it has, no one will be interested in taking care of it. Am I wrong, Henry?"

"Um, about those scars ... there is something about the one on its breast that seems almost ... man-made. The depth of the wound, despite the scar, seems to have been made by something made out of metal," the vet, Henry, told Linda.

"Do you think he could've have gotten caught in a trap out in the forests before he came here?" asked Linda.

"That could be a possibility but for now, I prefer to keep this owl under close watch, so you won't be able to bring it back home just now, Linda."

"When will I be able to take it to my house, then?" Linda inquired.

"At the very least, I'll keep it here under close watch for a good three days. If anything happens, may it be good or bad, I will give you news in the next few days," announced Henry.

"Well, okay, if it helps the fella to get better. Well then, it's been good seeing you again, Henry. I'll be waiting for your call, now," spoke Linda, giving Henry seducing eyes just to kid around with him.

"O ... of co ... course!" Henry exclaimed, who suddenly started sweating abundantly.

"Gosh, you're always so easy to mess with, Henry!" Linda burst into laughter.

Realizing that Linda had played a prank on him, he also began laughing but not long after, he told Linda that she should probably go back home and do what she had planned to do originally. The redhead woman remembered that before she found the owl, she was going to the grocery store to buy some things for her and Blu. She immediately thanked the vet and quickly hurried back outside.

—

"Where is she? She was supposed to have come back already by this time," a blue macaw sighed.

Then, the door of the library slammed open and Linda entered in a hurry. She seemed rather nervous, according to this blue macaw, and just passed next to him without doing their usual handshake. The blue macaw became somewhat anxious as to what happened when she went out to the grocery store. However, before he could ponder on that thought too long, Linda's attention was sent towards the blue macaw in less time needed to say Minnesota.

"You're not going to believe what happened today, Blu!" Linda exclaimed.

"No, but I have a feeling that you are going to tell me anyway," Blu squawked.

"I was going to the grocery story when I saw this owl in a pile of snow. It was all bloodied and had a broken wing, so I brought it to the vet and guess what? We're going to have another member in our little family soon."

"What? You mean you adopted this owl? Aren't owls supposed to be raptors that eat us little birds?" Blu nervously let out.

"Now, now! I thought I taught you better then this, Tyler Blu Gunderson! In any case, this owl suffered a severe concussion and will probably never be able to fly for the rest of its life, so I thought, why not care for the poor fella since no one would even dare lay an eye on its face," explained Linda.

"Why? What's the matter with this owl's face?" Blu squawked, giving Linda an interrogative look.

"I know that look, Blu. You want to know what's wrong with the owl's face. Well, when I first saw the poor bird, I noticed a large scar on its face," gestured Linda to show Blu what the owl's scar looked like.

"Ewww, now I understand why you said that no one would want to take that owl," Blu replied.

"Seriously, Blu, you are hopeless sometimes. I just hope you will behave a lot better when this said owl will be here," sighed Linda.

—

Back at the vet's office, the owl woke up suddenly and looked as if it had experienced a terrible nightmare. He was slightly shaking and just looked around him before wilfing at the sight of the vet coming towards him with some sort of pointy item. When the vet tried to use the item on the owl, he jumped back, but he hadn't seen the edges of the table he was on and fell. He opened his wings and tried to take flight, but he was struck by a sharp pain and fell directly to the ground.

It was then that he noticed that his wing was all mangled up. Upon seeing this, he shot a menacing look at the vet and screeched at him because he believed the the other had done this to him.

"No need to get aggressive, my friend. All I want is a sample of your blood to send it to a bird specialist along with some photos of you so this friend can analyse you and judge the cause of your wounds," Henry told the owl peacefully.

Bird specialist? Blood sample? Where was he? Who was that other? What in Glaux's name had happened while he was out? Those kind of questions swirled around in the owl's head. However, there was a few things that were clear to him: his name was Kurth, he had killed nearly all his family and he had an other to whom he was indebted to. He exiled himself in other to search for this friend of his and he ended up with a torn wing, a concussion and he was stuck in some place he didn't even know existed.

He didn't know how or why, but he was able to understand what the vet was telling him. It sure was strange, though. Kurth had been raised as a Hoolian owl and yet, he was able to understand what the Others were. He was unsure of what happened after he plunged into a volcano with his mother locked into his talons. Was he the one who did that or was it the other that inhabited him at that moment?

Everything was unclear in his mind. He had no recollection of what had happened to him after he hit that sign in the small town of Moose Lake. He just remembered that he travelled far from a land that was devoid of any humans. When he noticed a pen and a loose leaf sheet, he walked to take them in an attempt to write something on the sheet that the vet could understand.

Kurth was, however, stopped by the vet and he was held in the air until Henry had finished taking a blood sample. The needle on that pointy thing stung a lot when it first entered his skin and it felt the same when it came out. Kurth screeched in pain and was released by a scared Henry, afraid that he might bite his fingers with his sharp beak.

Kurth looked at Henry and just screeched a bit to show his discontent. When he saw the pointy thing that the vet had used on him, he noticed that it was filled with blood, his blood, but he wasn't all that scared about that. After all, he been through a lot more worst. A psychotic, sociopath that just happened to be his mother was one of those things. No, the owl was more worried about what the vet was going to do with his blood sample.

Seeing as the pen and sheet were still there, he once again tried to reach them, but this time, he was pinned down by the vet and when Kurth looked back, which wasn't a very hard thing to do for owls as they had fourteen cervical vertebrae and were able to turn their head at about two hundred and seventy degrees on each side, he saw that Henry had another one of those pointy things, this time filled with some kind of transparent liquid.

He once again experienced a sharp pain as the needle once again entered his skin and then he felt the strange liquid being injected into his bloodstream. Once Henry had finished injecting Kurth with whatever he used, he quickly removed the needle and got back quickly, worried that the white owl would try to pluck out his eyes, or something like that. When he was at a safe distance, he just looked at the owl as it started to weaken.

"Calm down, my little friend," reassured Henry. " for now, just sleep. Sleep peacefully."

_Frinking humans! I knew I should've listened to Mike and stay away from them!_ Kurth burst out in his mind before everything went black once more.

—

**So, what do you think for a first. Give me your opinion and I'll be posting the next chapter as soon as I can. It's actually good to be back in 3rd person writing and I have this feeling that I'll amaze some of you with the plot that I have in mind. Well, anyway, this is good bye for now. :3**

**Sincerely,  
>The 'Other' Guardian<br>LordChronicler46**


	2. The Revenant

**Welcome back to the Visitor. I know the name can be a little hard to understand, but with enough thinking, pretty much anyone can comprehend it. Now, back to the story. Yes, I know that you were all expecting to see someone like Soren or Gylfie to come barging into the place like some kind of heroes, but that ain't happening any time soon. At the very least, I made some reference to the GoG universe.**

**—**

**Chapter 2: The Revenant**

A few hours after Kurth had been put to sleep, Henry called his friend, who happened to be a bird specialist and who was also quite interested in owls, and told her that someone had brought a very unusual owl. His friend told him that she was on her way almost immediately after Henry had finished his tale about how he got the owl. He also added that he had a blood sample of this owl and that there were two large scars on its body, one its face and the other was on its breast.

—

It had caught Lucy's attention when Henry told her that he had found a really unusual owl back in Minnesota and even if she did happen to live in Nebraska, in the city of Blair, she had to see that owl. One of the biggest reason was because the description Henry gave her about the owl resembled the owl that was the main character of the a book she absolutely loved.

And although that book had faced countless challenges in order to get published, such as having to deal with the original holder of the copyrights, it got published after five years of intense debates. The book had originally been written by a youngster named Michael Turner, who lived Canada. The interesting thing about that fellow was that it was his parents that published his book as he was in a coma. A coma that lasted for ten years, only to result in his death. Nobody really knew how he had died. He just did.

However, that was not the point. In that book, the main character of the book was a Barn Owl that happened to be the son of the craziest owl ever and after going through many hardships and heartache, the owl finally managed to kill his mother by plunging with her inside an active volcano. By sacrificing himself, the owl had managed to protect everything that it held dear, but because of some force unknown, that owl was brought back from the dead and was allowed to get a second chance in the land of the living.

The only problem with that decision was that the owl instead chose to exile himself in order to go search for the one that had helped him since the beginning. The one who had helped him was a human that was also called Michael Turner, even if humans were supposed the be extinct in the universe they lived him. The book had captivated her so much that she began digging as much information as she could about this youngster, only to learn that he had died almost a year after the book finally got published.

After hearing Henry out, it made her think if that book was not a prediction of the future. Or that maybe the soul of that youngster got sent in the universe of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, as the book was based upon the work an author that was well known for that series, Kathryn Lasky. So many theories could be applied to that but none of them mattered at that moment for Lucy. All that mattered was that she absolutely had to see that owl.

Not wanting to waste any time, she took he car and set out for Moose Lake, Minnesota. Since Henry had called him in the evening, she decided to get a good night's sleep before embarking into a nearly five hundred miles trip. Based on the results she got on the internet, the time required to go there by car was about eight hours long. While she did consider the whole trip to be worth the while, she still needed to be ready for such a long trip.

The next day, she packed her things and embarked in her car, a luxurious Audi R8 4.2. How she got that car was still a wonder as the car itself was worth more than most people's houses. But she had earnestly and honestly earned the money to buy without having too much debts to bother with. Now, it wasn't one of the new models, but it still cost more than most cars present in the actual society.

In any case, since she was working in her own falconry, she could just call her receptionist and tell her that she would be absent for next few days and just ask the other ornithologist to come instead. And so, her journey began. The owl occupied her mind ever since Henry had informed her about it and with the theories she had in mind, she had to see it for herself.

According to those same theories, the author who wrote the story to which she was so addicted tried to tell that the Hoolian owls existed. They were just in an isolated area that no one had ever found before. Maybe some kind of land that was explored once, but that was never reported back to anyone in the world. She took that author's words as her own and made them her beliefs.

One of the places that the young author suspected of hiding the Great Ga'Hoole Tree was the Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle. The Devil's Triangle was a term used in the universe of Kathryn Lasky to describe an area that is affected by a magnetic field. And to prove his point, his explanation hinted to the possibility that all those ships and planes were sunk because of some kind of barrier that hid away the world of Ga'Hoole from the real world.

_'Stay away from him! He brings death and misfortune wherever he is!_' a voice echoed through Lucy's head.

Upon hearing this voice, as it was slightly menacing, she quickly pulled over to the side of the road and checked if it wasn't her phone or anything of the sort but nothing she checked seemed to have made up that scary voice she had heard. Had it been a warning? Who knew? In any case, she took back the road and continued to make her way to the town of Moose Lake.

As she was nearing the state of Minnesota, Lucy heard the little voice in her had more than a dozen times and each time she did, it was getting more and more menacing, almost as if it was trying to protect someone. It was when she stopped at a gas station to get some fuel that she experienced one of the most terrifying things of her life. She saw a man appear and disappear from her sight just like that! And what stressed her the most was that nobody seemed to have noticed.

Could it have been that the man was also the one with the voice that was always trying to warn her about someone that always brought death to those around him? That vision haunted Lucy to the highest point! She wanted to know what was happening to her, but there never seemed to be any explanation at all those those ... hallucinations.

After the event at the gas station in the city of Little Canada, Minnesota, Lucy didn't get any more encounters with that ghost or whatever that man was. Assuming that it was just due to exhaustion and too much thinking, she paid no mind to it afterwards. It wasn't until she was forty miles away from Moose Lake that she got the scare of her life ... for the second time in a single day!

'_Sheesh! Why aren't you listening to anything I say, stubborn woman!_' the voice once again echoed through Lucy's mind.

Fortunately, there wasn't anyone on the road as Lucy completely lost the control of her car. She was lucky that her car only hit a soft snowdrift. If it had been anything else, she would have surely died there.

"What the heck! Who are you? What do you want from me?" Lucy burst out in total anger, sending the questions one after the other.

'_I see you decided to bare your fangs, woman! In any case, I'm not someone one you should bother yourself with,_' the voice replied, almost as if it was making fun of Lucy.

"Why don't you show yourself, for a change?" Lucy harshly replied.

"Fine, fine! But don't go sayin' I never warned you about coming here!" a man exclaimed, appearing all of a sudden next to Lucy.

"You're ... no, that can't be!" denied Lucy. "You're supposed to be dead..."

"Was I ever truly alive?"

"But you ...," Lucy stammered.

"Wrote that book about the possibility of the Hoolian world being closer than we think. You were indeed very smart to have caught on to that. Not even my best friends were able to figure that out," the ghost stated.

"Well, thank you, but what exactly happened ten years ago, Michael?" Lucy asked once more.

"Oh, boy! That's one seriously mean question! Y'know, to have my soul roam the Earth in any way I can is one thing, but to be asked what exactly happened at a time that was already unclear is a complete other matter," Michael remarked.

"Please, I need to know! Your friend, Kurth, is here in Minnesota at this very moment and I think he is searching for you."

"If I had felt the need to see him, I would have done so a long time ago. You read the book, didn't you? I'm sure you know what happened after all those things with Nyra in Beyond the Beyond."

"What are you sayi ... wait! I remember now! You promised him that you would stay together, no matter what. You broke that promise when you gave him your life and a few days after, Kurth swore that he would find you and confront you for what you did," recited Lucy.

"See? That wasn't all that bad!" joked Michael, only to be met by Lucy's serious glare. "Fine, I'll stop being arrogant! You were right, though, I broke our promise and right now, I'm sure that he must hate me enough he wants to kill me..."

"So that's what this is all about!" muttered Lucy.

"Huh, what was that?"

"You're afraid. You always were!" Lucy let out.

"What in blazes are you talking about, woman?"

"You were so afraid of his reactions that you refused to try and find him. You never even thought for a second that he might have considered you his best friend and confident! You never even bothered to go see for yourself if he still resented you or if he had forgiven you!"

"Whoa, there! Enough with the accusations! As I said, if I had felt the need to go see Kurth, I would've done so long ago! Now, let me explain everything that happened in detail..."

—

Michael started his tale once Lucy parked her car in a parking once she had entered Moose Lake. He explained that once he was sent to the strange world of Ga'Hoole as Kurth's counterpart, his material body went into a strange trance in which he continuously wrote the body of Kurth's tale. Kurth indeed existed as a real Barn Owl, but his future was written by a human.

Michael's soul was just there to guide Kurth into the path his body was slowly carving for the brave owl. Everything he experienced had been already planned before, but no one even dared to think about that possibility. The concepts of the supernatural and science-fiction were thought to be only the fruits of the human mind, namely its imagination.

Of course, anyone who didn't have a critical mind or the mind to reject the pattern of common thinking would certainly call anyone who thinks like that a crazy fool. Why that response? Because it goes against all of their religious beliefs. It was almost as if one would claim to be a god when one wasn't. Some of them even called such a behaviour an offence against their religious point of view...

Anyway, that was slightly out of the matter since he now was getting farther and farther away from their main subject. Michael took back his tale by telling Lucy that when Kurth plunged with his mother, their talons locked, into the lava of one of the five volcanoes of the Beyond the Beyond, they both fell into the boiling lava and died almost immediately after falling inside the volcano.

Upon witnessing Kurth's death, Michael decided to take one decision he had a hard time dealing with. It was something he had planned to happen; he made every effort so that Kurth would become a hagsfiend and fight his mother with the same kind of power she possessed. But when he had begun to incite Kurth into doing that, he started asking himself what would happen afterwards. Since hagsfiends were supposed to to have disappeared from the world, he didn't want them to reappear because of a stupid decision so he led Kurth to sacrifice himself so that the world could be free once and for all.

That was how he began to plan something that would certainly have Kurth hate him for him; give away his own life to bring Kurth back from the land of the dead. He did so because Kurth had something the Michael barely knew in his own life. He had people who cared about him, no matter who he was or what he did in the past. He had some people who cared for me, but a lot of the people he knew resented him just for breathing. And, just to emphasize on that thought, Michael told Lucy that those people he knew weren't even acquaintance, they just happened to have crossed his path more than once.

After having made up his mind, Michael decided to put his plan into action and traded his soul to allow Kurth to return in the land of the living. Reluctant to give up on his only friend, Kurth tried to talk Michael out of his decision, only to be met by the human's response: look around you and you'll realize that those you cared for all this time can still care you for you.

—

"And that's about all of it," resumed Michael. "and after I traded my soul for his life, my soul couldn't find its way to my body as it had died and ever since then, I am roaming the Earth. After all this time, I still haven't crossed to the other side, so I believe that I may have some unfinished business here."

"Interesting theory," Lucy stated. "but there is one thing you said during your explanation that intrigued me a lot and I want to elaborate on that thing."

"And what might that be, exactly?"

"Earlier, you said that after you were taken to the Hoolian world, your body still continued to write down Kurth's story but according to the medical reports, you were in a coma just after you soul was separated from your body," Lucy told Michael.

"That's a good question ... you might wanna keep that one for a psychologist. I heard those dudes are awfully talented when it comes down to understanding the human mind!" Michael burst out in laughter. But coming back to the original subject, I want you to take me to him."

"Bring you to who?" asked Lucy, completely confused by what the ghost had said.

"Who else, nincompoop! I'm talking about Kurth, of course!"

"Oh, right! Sorry...," apologized Lucy as she started her car once more and take the road again.

This time, she would not make a travel that was around eight hours long. She maybe had around fifteen minutes in car before reaching Henry's office. Seeing him in person again sure made memories come back to her. Since they went to the same high school, they befriended each other there and since then, they kept that relationship to a stable level.

—

"I thought she was supposed to be here sooner than this!" complained Henry.

"Sorry I'm late!" Lucy let out as she entered Henry's office. "Some idiot made a mess on the I-35 and I got stuck in the traffic for almost two hours."

"Well, in any case, I'm glad you're here! That owl is seriously beginning to become psychotic!" Henry exclaimed, gesturing the room in which the owl was.

"First of all, have you been feeding the little fella with appropriate food?"

"I did ... I gave that owl some dried food, but it never even glanced at them," admitted Henry.

"You and your poor judgement ... I am still surprised that you have your own office! Owls don't eat dried fruits. They mostly feed on rodent and other such animals. What you should have given the owl was some fresh meat," Lucy explained.

"Well, you know I've never liked birds to begin with. I still remember that incident with that falcon twenty years ago."

"Oh, come one now! Don't be such a scaredy cat ... you know that owls are normally very calm birds. If it is angry against you, it may be because you did something you shouldn't have done," Lucy told Henry, looking at him with piercing eyes.

"I ... may have taken the blood sample by force and then put it to sleep with a soporific...," revealed Henry.

"See? That's why I still wonder how you got your own office! You're so afraid to experience what that falcon did to you again that you take useless precautions over such small things!" replied Lucy. "In any case, how about you let me see that blood sample."

"Yes, of course! Follow me," said Henry. "

"Do me a favour, dear," Lucy spoke. " and call that lady who said she would take care of the owl while I analyse the sample."

"Will do, ma'am!" Henry sternly replied, before bursting into laughter along with Lucy.

"All, right, now get to work! And please, keep the ma'am business out of here..."

"As you command, Lucy."

"Stop that already," whined Lucy.

"You know you love it, darling!" smirked Henry.

"Oh, brother!" muttered Lucy. "This is gonna be a long day!"

—

While Henry was busy calling Linda, Lucy went on ahead in the lab and placed a few droplets on a slide and put in under the microscope lens. The only reason she did that was to reinforce her thoughts on Kurth's revival. If some of his blood cells seem to have been reactivated not long ago, then that would prove her point. If the owl's blood cells were as active as any other animal or human, then it would mean that Kurth had never found his way into Minnesota.

But the coincidences were too many to be just the wrong owl. And more importantly, the soul the writer of the book that explained everything there is to know about mysteries of the Ga'Hoolian world had appeared to her and asked to be brought to where Kurth was. But he hadn't specified where this Kurth was supposed to be. Was he the one that Henry had taken in his office or was he elsewhere in the world?

Those answers were far from her possession, but there was one thing she was sure of, that owl's blood was strange. Its blood didn't show any signs of having been reactivated but it did show signs of mass production of blood vessels. She tried to understand why that was so, until she came to remembered that the reactivation of blood vessels was closely tied to the mass production of those same blood vessels.

"Incredible! So, this owl really is Kurth!"

'_Yes, he is! Now, buy me some time. I'm going to see him_,' Michael told Lucy.

"Fine, I'll do what I can," complied Lucy. "just don't take too long. Henry is good at getting what he wants."

'_I'll keep that in mind. For now, just do what I asked of you_."

As she finished her analysis, Lucy clearly heard someone enter the clinic. She started panicking! What would she do? How could she possibly hold them back now that Linda was there? No! She had to pull herself together, or Michael would never have the chance to set his past straight and maybe clear his unfinished business so his soul may rest his peace afterwards.

"Hey, Henry!" called Lucy.

"What is it, Lucy? Oh, by the way, this is Linda," Henry answered, presenting Linda to Lucy and vice versa.

"Hi, Linda," Lucy greeted, shaking hands with the redhead.

"So, you're Lucy. I've heard good things about you. According to Henry, you are specialist on birds?" asked Linda.

"Exactly! Birds have always fascinated me — unlike my friend here — and most especially owls. They have grace and beauty not many birds have."

"Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to me about to call me like that?" Henry inquired.

"I didn't want to bother you with that earlier, but I am awfully hungry!"

"And you had to tell me now? When I was about to show the owl's progress to Linda?"

"Well, it might've helped if you had asked me if I WAS hungry when I arrived!" Lucy harshly met with Henry.

"Please, don't start fighting for something like that. After all, it is nearly time for supper," Linda intervened.

"What do you suggest we do, then?"

"Why don't you two come over to my house? It's been a while since I invited anyone to eat and I want to know a bit more how you two know each other," Linda told the two.

"What do you say about this, Henry?"

"Let's go. Knowing you, you will probably be as grumpy as ever if you don't eat soon," Henry stated.

"Ooh, you still know me well, I see! But please remember that I can also be grumpy anytime I want ... if you piss me off."

"Please, stop doing that," pleaded Linda. "It makes me feel guilty of setting this uneasiness between you."

"Alright, let's both shut up and be kind to our host for the time being," Lucy told Henry.

"Deal!" He let out.

—

Now that he had everyone out of the clinic, Michael went over to the room in which Kurth resided. Of all the things he expected to receive from Kurth, forgiveness was not among them. He had expected the owl to hate him for what he had made him do back when he was still in the Hoolian world. Finding his way there wasn't all that hard, though, as he almost felt like he was called to the wounded owl.

One of the advantages of being a roaming soul without a physical body was that he could go right through walls, whereas he needed to use doors before. Michael had always wondered what it felt like and now that he was able to do it, it felt somehow dull to him. Anyway, when he arrived in the room, he saw Kurth trying to open his port wing, only to be met with a failure.

The hit his wing had suffered when he hit that sign was so great that it literally rendered the owl unable to use his wing. He was still able to open his starboard wing perfectly. His port wing ... just stopped responding completely. Michael felt so sorry for that loss, but even he couldn't do anything to help. If the hit had severed a nerve there, then his wing was probably useless at this point.

—

When the owl turned back, his eyes widened in shock. Could it be that the thing standing in front of him was the one he had searched for? It hardly felt possible for Kurth to believe in that as the human looked so much older than the last time he had seen him. The age was able to fool Kurth a little, but the human's eyes could never fool him! He would always remember those kind, sympathetic eyes. When they had first met, it was what interested him the most.

Although, Kurth did believe that irony was toying with him. Why? Because it took him a commotion and a broken wing to finally find the one who he had been searching for. He had searched the entire world in a whole year and it wasn't until he flew by the city of Moose Lake that fate shone down on him. However, even if the world's irony and fate were against him, Lady Luck had a little something for him.

"Is ... that truly you, Mike?"

But there were no answers coming from the human that looked like his friend. It was strange. It was almost as if the human could not speak at all, but why would that be? Kurth had heard Michael speak to him a number of times he couldn't count anymore. Something in all of this didn't feel right for Kurth.

"Answer me! Please...," Kurth pleaded.

There were still no answers and Kurth was definitely worried.

"You can't speak normally, can you?" inquired Kurth.

Michael only shook his head in response to Kurth's question. At least, he was a little more reassured about the whole situation. Michael wasn't ignoring him, he was just unable to utter a single word. But then, another question was born inside the owl's mind: how would they communicate if he wasn't able to reply?

Then, Michael came closer and closer until he was just in front of Kurth and he showed the owl his hand. It had a strange coloration that was not common in the humans Kurth had encountered before. It was kind of grey and it looked like it was somehow transparent. When he tried to touch it with his left foot, Kurth saw why his friend was so strange.; he wasn't even material to begin with.

"What are you?"

'_I'm just the soul of a departed that has yet to complete his unfinished business in the land of the living_,' Michael replied inside Kurth's head.

"Wait! Why am I hearing you in my head instead of hearing your voice coming from your mouth?"

'_That might be because the dead cannot interact with the living unless he is tied to them somehow_,' the human answered.

"No ... you can't! You can't be dead!" protested Kurth.

'_I'm afraid so..._'

"So that must be why I never found you, despite all the places I've been to."

'_Wait, you mean to tell me that you actually searched for me a whole year?_'

"Well, yeah! I mean, you are probably my best and most trusted friend, so why wouldn't I try searching for you after everything you did for me," Kurth responded.

'_And all this time, you never hated me once?_'

"Mike ... out of everyone I met, you are the only one who taught me to remember someone for what they did for rather then for what they didn't."

'_But I made you turn into a hagsfiend and you lost the whole Great Ga'Hoole Tree's trust because of me!_'

"So? Where's your point?" Kurth simply fired back.

'_You ... forgave me?_'

"Of course, I did! After I was brought back to life because of you, I returned to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and stayed there for a week before I exiled myself. During my stay there, I was almost considered as a hero. And you were right about Egg, she did love me!"

'_I can't ... believe it! All this time, I blamed myself because I thought that I completely ruined your life and now, you're telling me that from the beginning, you had forgiven me?_'

"Yeah! I couldn't stay mad at you for doing what you did. While it is true that your actions were extremely unclear, you intentions were always to protect us and I'm sure that if you hadn't made me fight fire against fire with Nyra, we would have probably never been able to win the war," Kurth told Michael.

'_Do you ... truly mean ... that?_' Michael stammered, sobbing slightly.

"Are you really crying, Mike?"

'_No, that's just ... something in my eyes,'_ Michael lied. '_but are you truly saying that through your heart?_'

"Yes, I am. But now, how about you tell me why you really came to do here?"

'_Are you sure you want to hear it? It might cause you another heartache...,_' Michael said.

"I am! Just ... go on," Kurth answered hesitantly.

'_Fine, but don't go sayin' I didn't warn you._'

"I'm ready, I said. Now, would you just tell why you're here, for Glaux's sake!" Kurth let out.

'_All right! Just calm down already!_' Michael exclaimed. '_Now, as I was saying, I have died and my soul is now roaming, trying to find an unfinished business to complete. The more I think about, the more I have come to believe that you are this unfinished business_,' Michael explained.

"Continue."

'_After I will be but distant memory, you will have to act as if I had been your owner. Don't worry, I talked about it to Lucy and she has agreed to play along_.'

"But why? I'm used to be free and to live my life alone," complained Kurth.

'_With your wounds, you may never be able to be free again. Heck, you might not even be able to fly anymore. Face it, sooner or later, you will need to depend on someone to live_,' Michael replied.

"What do you suggest I do, then? Wait around for someone to take me? With my scars, no one will want to even glance at me!"

'_Wait for Linda to come and take you. She has no prejudices towards you. She's already accepted you, even with your scars. To be honest, I think she could be an excellent owner for you, especially since you can actually feed on food other than meat_.'

"And then what? What will she bring me?" asked Kurth.

'_She'll probably give you a shelter and love whereas the vet here has no knowledge in bird care. For the moment, she's your best bet,_' Michael stated.

"What about you? Will we meet again someday?"

'_I doubt it_,' Michael said_,_ his body slowly starting to fade away. '_after all, I AM dead and I think I've just completed my unfinished business._'

"Why? Why are we unable to meet again?"

'_Because your glaumora belongs to your beliefs. If you remember correctly, you'll know that I never believed in any higher beings whatsoever ... I guess this is good-bye, then,_' Michael uttered before completely vanishing.

"Mike‼ Don't leave me yet! I still need your wisdom ... please!" Kurth pleaded.

_Don't worry, I will watch over you forever more. That much ... has already been written down._

_—_

**And this is it for now. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of The Visitor has much as I enjoyed writing it. Now, if any of you writers wonder how I managed to put some double punctuation, I'll answer you by saying that I made use of an alt code: Alt+19. That being said, I know the plot is hard to follow at some point, but please bear with it for the time being as it will begin to get clearer and clearer since I will be coming closer and closer to the original plot of the movie, albeit the fact that this story is in parallel with the plot of the movie. If it it so complicated to follow, it is because I develop with a fictive concept I completely made up in my mind so I could actually fit Kurth inside this story. Also, for those searching for more info on this story, feel free to go see my profile as I have updated it and I am explaining the concept of the story in depth there.**

**The 'Other' Guardian  
>LordChronicler46 <strong>


	3. A New Hope

**And here it is! Chapter 3 of The Visitor! I know that the two first chapters weren't so easy to catch on, but be reassured that this one has Michael's P.O.V. completely out of the story. That only leaves Blu, Linda, Lucy, Henry and Kurth as characters that have their own P.O.V.s. And please, if you are a bit intrigued by this story, or even interested, a review telling me your level of appreciation would be kindly appreciated. Having visitors is one thing, but having visitors that tell you what they thought of your story is even better. Now that this is said, begone A/N and let the chapter begin.**

**—**

**Chapter 3: A New Hope**

"So, tell me, Lucy; how did you and Henry meet?" Linda inquired.

"Well, if you must know, we went to the same high school. One day, during a biology class, we got in the same team and that's when we truly begun our relationship as friends. We've kept in touch ever since," answered Lucy.

"Oh, is that so? Then why didn't you go to the same college if you two went to the same high school?"

"That's because my family had to deal with the death of my grandfather, who just happened to be a company owner, and since my father decided to take his father's position, one of my grandfather's requests written on his will, we moved to another town," Henry explained.

"And how exactly did you manage to keep in touch despite the distance?" asked Linda.

"Well, since the good ol' internet didn't exist at that time, we communicated through mail. It wasn't the perfect way of communication, but it worked for us," Lucy told Linda.

"By the way, I've been wanting to ask you since we met, but what made you want to study birds in the first place?"

"I don't think that's a very good question to ask her," Henry interjected.

"Oh, shut it, Henry! She asked me a question that deserves an answer!" shot Lucy. "It was when both Henry and I were in high school. We were always outside, studying the animals' behavior and one day, we saw a falcon, a female if I remember correctly, return to her nest. The bird's feathers, its flight pattern, it was unlike everything I had seen before. However, this idiot decided he wanted to go observe its behavior from up close and he got attacked by the falcon as she was protecting her eggs. Ever since then, I became interested in the different behaviors that birds can take."

"How interesting! But I have to admit that it wasn't such a good move, Henry," stated Linda.

"Yeah, sure! Go on ahead and make fun of me too!" Henry sarcastically replied.

"Would you calm down for God's sake! She was just making a statement! In no way was she judging you!" Lucy returned the fire.

"Please, no more fighting! It's making me uncomfortable," Linda said.

"Alright, but please stop using that event from now on, Lucy."

"Yeah, sure," Lucy agreed. "but in any case, your macaw is magnificent, Linda!"

"Why, thank you! I've taken good care of Blu for the last few years," smiled Linda.

"Last time I heard, those macaws were pretty rare, almost completely extinct from both the wild and captivity. In fact, Blu could indeed be the last male of his kind, the Spix's macaw."

"You know about those macaws, Lucy?" Henry couldn't resist asking.

"Well, of course! I'm an ornithologist! And those macaws have caused a lot of controversy a few years ago. Most of them have either been smuggled or have died in the wild," Lucy added."

"Wow! You know a lot about them," Linda said, surprised. "I don't know that many people who have even heard of the Spix's macaw."

"Could we return to our original subject now?" Henry demanded.

"Which would happen to be...?" Lucy hesitated to ask.

"The owl that Linda brought me. You seemed to have a special interest in that owl. Have you seen it somewhere before?"

"Actually, that owl had used to be owned by someone," answered Lucy.

"Why did you say that it used to be owned? Did something happen to its previous owner?" inquired Linda.

"He died, a year ago. The cause of his death is still unknown. The only thing that people know is that he suddenly died after spending ten years in a coma. His parents must have set the owl free as they didn't know how to take care of an owl properly. I'd recognize that owl anywhere because of the scars it bears," Lucy explained.

"Why's that?" Henry asked.

"Because I saw that owl once. It was eleven years, at an avian competition and I had been selected as one the judges for that event. During that competition, I had the pleasure of meeting a charming young Canadian that owned the owl. While he got fourth place, I still decided to go have a talk with him even if he was not in the top three. I remember his name quite clearly: it was Michael Turner."

"For some reason, I feel like I've heard of him somewhere before," Linda pondered.

"It wouldn't surprise me if you did. Last year, his parents were finally able to publish the book he had wrote a couple of years back, which was based the Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. The name of the book is, if I remember it well enough, The 'Other' Guardian."

"So, that's why it sounded so familiar. I loved that book, even if it was based on someone else's work. I think he should have been made known because of it," let out Linda.

"Even if they had given him credit for his work, when his parents finally published the book, he had already died," Lucy stated.

"In any case, do you remember what the name of the owl was?" Henry inquired.

"I think its name was Kurth, and from what I recall, that owl is a male and it was the owl Michael used to create his main character. Pure white Barn Owls are extremely rare, although not as much as the black Barn Owl. From what Michael told me, he found Kurth while he was following him. He had gotten in a fight with an eagle and that's how he got his scars. If it hadn't been for Michael's care, he would've died for sure," Lucy told them.

"In the end, I guess I was wrong yet again," Henry muttered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, yesterday, I told Linda that Kurth's wounds had been made by something man-made, but now I know I was wrong," said Henry.

'_Not entirely, Henry. That owl is way more than meets the eye_,' Lucy thought.

"Just to be sure, was this owl wearing some kind of accessory on his left foot?"

"Well, not that I remember. I don't exactly recall seeing such an item on his foot. What kind of accessory was it?" Linda asked back.

"Last time I saw it, it was some kind of sapphire encased in a gold case. The gold case was attached with a chain, which made it a wrist accessory. But I warn you, if you don't find it, he _will_ try to kill you. That was a gift from his owner and he cherishes it above everything else. Hell, he nearly tried to bite off my finger when I tried to touch it!"

"If I had something that happened to be the last thing I can remember someone I adored, I would also try to protect it at all cost. But I did notice something shining near him when I found him," Lucy spoke up.

"If it's still there, we must find it, or else, Kurth is not going to be very happy...," Lucy added.

"Whoa, there! What do you mean by _we_?"

"I mean that we're all in this together. Anyhow, how old is Blu? He seems to be mature enough to mate,"

"I found him ten years ago, in a crate that was on the sidewalk. Since then, I've been taking care of him. We've become pretty much best friends."

"Strange, though, " Lucy uttered. "because those kind of birds are mostly exotic. They couldn't survive in this kind of weather very well."

"So, anyway, when are we going to search for that memento?" Henry demanded.

"At this time of the day, we'll have no chance of finding it. We'd better get a good night's sleep and go hunting tomorrow morning instead," Lucy suggested.

"Good idea. In any case, do you have any place to spend the night, Lucy?

"Well, I was planning to go take a room at the nearest motel. Why?"

"I could offer you a bed for tonight, if you want," Linda offered.

"Put like that, how could I ever turn you down?" Lucy rhetorically asked.

"Great! It's been a while since I've had any guests!" Linda happily exclaimed.

—

Back at the clinic, Kurth had spent most of the evening crying out his loss. Maybe Michael had been right, maybe death was following him wherever he went. But that wasn't what worried him the most, what he was worried about was that Serenade's memento wasn't on his left foot anymore. What if he had lost it? He would certainly feel worthless for losing such an important thing.

Feeling compelled to find it at any cost, he decided that he would start by getting out of that crazy human's clinic. He still didn't know what he had done to him, but he was still feeling a bit dizzy and it really hurt him where Henry had stung him with that thing with the needle. He couldn't stay there! If he did, who knew what would that maniac do to him next?

But the one question that troubled him now was this one: how would he get out of there? He was on a table away from the door that blocked his escape route and he couldn't fly. Sure, he was a fast thinker, but there was a limit to everything. Kurth came up with several plans, most of being completely useless, until he noticed something that resembled a rope on the upper left corner of the table he was on.

Then, he saw that some of the doors on the suspended cupboards on the wall seemed sturdy enough to resist his weight, so he took the wannabe rope and tied it at the end so it could hang on to something when successfully thrown at something. The owl proceeded into throwing the rope at the door handle. His first attempt didn't go so well and it missed his target because of an error he did.

Kurth tried once more to grab the door handle and succeeded on his second attempt. However, when he pulled the rope to see if it was usable, the knot that Kurth had made at the other end of the rope loosened and fell to the ground. The Barn Owl brought the rope up once again, and despite all of his frustration, he made a new knot on the rope. This time, he made sure that it tighter than the first time.

Kurth threw the rope one more time and managed to get his knot right on the door handle, then tested its resistance against his weight and once he was sure that it would hold on, Kurth jumped down and balanced himself to the large desk on the other side of the room, one that was right next to the door. Something went unlike what the owl had planned as he hit one of the lower cupboards head first.

The hit was strong, even if it wasn't strong enough to knock him out, and it knocked the wind out of Kurth. He considered himself fortunate to have hung extremely tight to the rope just before he hit the cupboard. While he was a little disoriented, he still managed to get on the desk with careful use of his talons and rope. Once on the desk, he tried to take back the rope that was hung after the door handle of the suspended cupboard just above him, but it didn't want to get off.

Since he did not want to lose any time at all, Kurth decided to cut the rope at the highest point he could reach with his beak. Afterwards, he took notice that he would probably need it once more in order to open the door handle of the room's door. Taking the remnant of the rope he had cut, he made another tight knot at its end and threw it at the room's door handle.

Kurth's main fear in this new attempt was that he thought that the rope would have been too short to reach out to the next door handle. After all, it had barely reached out for the first one. Luckily, the rope got around the second handle on Kurth's first try. However, since that door handle differed from the first one. The Barn Owl made the knot so he could make it smaller without loosening it completely.

After making sure that the knot was gripped well enough onto the door handle, which happened to be a commercial duty lever door handle, Kurth once again jumped down and, using his own weight like a counterweight, made the door of the room he was in open. Once outside of the infernal room, the owl looked around him and saw that a window had been left open carelessly. The only problem was that it was out of reach.

That was, unless he made use of all the furniture to his advantage. There were all sort of of chairs, tables and bars in the large waiting room and if used carefully, Kurth could make it out of the clinic in one piece and then go search for his precious memento. He just had to practice walking now that he had been rendered unable to fly. To reach the window he aimed for, Kurth's claws became really useful as it allowed him to tightly grab onto a soft material, without being afraid of falling down and having to start all over again.

"Great Glaux!" Kurth exclaimed. "This place is worse than Madame Plonk's hollow!"

And his nightmare had just begun as he now had to climb onto a bar if he wanted to go higher. His only worry was that he had nothing to use as a stepping stone in order to reach said bar. He only thought that if he could reach out for that bar with one of his foot, he could do the rest in a much more easier way. That was when he noticed an empty glass on the table next to him.

Using that glass as a stepping stone could be an idea, but Kurth still had to find a way to climb on it without making it fall over. Coincidentally, there happened to be a small pot that contained small objects that were nearly all burned away. The only thing that remained of those objects was a yellow end. The Barn Owl completely ignored its content and turned it upside down so he wouldn't have to dirty his feet too much.

His next initiative was a bit more complex, though. The reason that was the case was because once he was on the glass, he would have to stand on one foot and jump in order to grab onto the bar. His only major problem was probably his own confidence in himself. He just wasn't sure if he could make it without falling down and bring himself even more injuries.

Eventually, he managed to bring himself on the turned over glass. Seeing as his feet were too big to stand simultaneously on the glass, he had to do as he planned and tried to stand on one foot. His first try was quite pathetic as he quickly fell down on the table he was originally on. While the fall hadn't been that brutal, it did hurt him to fall directly on his back.

His second attempt yielded more success than his first one as Kurth finally managed to stay balanced on one foot. He examined his new surrounding and noticed that he could reach the bar by jumping. The only inconvenient was that jumping with a single foot was not that easy to do. He still tried and he managed to grab the bar but he now dangled upside down.

The Barn Owl tried to grab the bar with his other foot by putting his starboard wing on the bar and using it to bring himself up. As he attempted to do it, his left foot slipped and he nearly fell once more. Hopefully, his right one was clutched tight onto the metal bar and it allowed him to hold himself together. He then proceeded into grabbing the bar another time.

A few moments later, after some hardships, Kurth had managed to climb on the bar and was now a lot more closer than before. It had been a good thing that he had been given a place at the Parliament back at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree as it had taught him how to carefully move on a perch. He then began moving towards the open window, although he did do it slowly as he did not want to fall and start all over again. At last, he had reached the window and quickly proceeded into jumping down to the ground.

"Finally! I thought I'd never get out of there," Kurth sighed, completely exhausted from all the efforts he had made. "but I have to keep going! I have to find Serenade's memento at all costs!"

The feeling of the snow under his feet made him somewhat uneasy, but it was nothing he couldn't live through. After all, he had flown through the most powerful katabats of the Northern Kingdoms and he had lived to tell the tale. He continued walking. Compared to what he had heard from before, Kurth thought that the town of Moose Lake was quite silent. Weren't humans like owls? Weren't they sleeping at day and living in the night like his kind proudly did?

In any case, he searched in every corner in hopes of finding what he sought. He walked through the empty streets of the town and eventually stumbled upon a small building that showcased a gold case in which a flawless sapphire was embedded in. The golden chain that went through the case made it clear to Kurth that it was Serenade's.

He knew, however, that he couldn't reach it as the door was probably locked. He saw something else in the front window. His sword was also showcased in that shop. He had brought it along because he took precautions in case some crows would be a stupid as to attack him. He felt rage build up inside of his gizzard because he knew he could not go take back what belonged to him.

That's when he decided that if he could not get his belongings in the night, he'd have to go and take them when the door would be open and he could go inside of the building. That building's jewels and items made Kurth think of Trader Mags's items whenever she came to the Great Tree. Anyhow, Kurth made his mind on what he would do!

—

"Dear God!" Lucy yawned. "It's been a while since I slept this good!"

She looked at her watch and saw that it was ten past seven. She tried to get back to sleep but at her great discontent, she heard the sound of Linda's alarm clock ring through the entire house. At first, she heard Linda grumble and hit her clock with her fist and shortly after, that ringing turned into a car's alarm. She wondered what was happening until she heard Linda greet her macaw.

"Good morning, Blu."

Incredible! Lucy thought that Blu was just incredible. While macaws were from the great family of parrots, it was extremely difficult for anyone, may they be human or parrots, to imitate such sounds and yet, Blu was doing it with no problems at all. Lucy then heard Linda get up and so, decided to follow her example. She dressed up, putting on the same clothes she had the day before and went to greet Linda.

"Morning, Linda!"

"Oh, you're awake. I hope Blu didn't wake you up...," Linda apologized.

"No, don't worry. I was already awake when he began," Lucy quickly replied.

"I'm glad to hear it. I wouldn't have wanted to disturb your sleep because of our little routine," Linda said.

"Do you do that every day?"

"Yup! At first, its started out as a joke but now, it's become part of our everyday life," Linda answered.

"You two are really incredible! By the way, I haven't seen Blu fly yet. I bet he's a magnificent flyer!" Lucy let out, glancing at Blu.

"About that ... I'm afraid to tell you that Blu can't really fly," Linda announced.

"Why's that? He's a bird, though," Lucy then stated.

"I don't know, I tried to make him fly when I was younger, but he just wouldn't flap his wings."

"Here, let me have a look," Lucy told Linda.

"Are you sure that what you're doing is all right?" inquired Linda.

"Yes, I am. I promise you that it won't be long."

Lucy then proceeded into carefully examining Blu. His feathers were well grown, his wings were strong. He did seem mature enough to fly, but he somehow couldn't. If Blu had been smuggled, then maybe he experienced some kind of trauma that rendered him unable to fly. And, to emphasize on that thought, he could open both wings, whereas Kurth was stuck with only one wing being operational.

"Here you go," said Lucy, giving back Blu to his owner. "it was just as I thought."

"I think I've lost track of what you were going on about," admitted Linda.

"I was just thinking that what is stopping Blu from flying is a trauma he must have suffered when he was younger. That is, if he was indeed smuggled in his younger days."

"You think?"

"If it's something else, then I have no idea whatsoever about what it could be," spoke Lucy.

They were about to continue their little conversation for a quite while until someone came rushing into Linda's library, which also happened to be her house. Things happened up so fast that they barely had the time to see who had came barging into the library in such a hurry. It wasn't after things had calmed down that the two ladies realized that it was Henry.

"Henry!" Linda let out. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The owl ... he's...," panted Henry, his breath heavy.

"What's that about the owl?"

"He escaped! I ... went to see if ... it was still there ... this morning and ... and he was..."

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "What do you mean, he escaped?"

"I don't know!" Henry replied. "I went to see how it was doing earlier and when I entered the clinic, Kurth's door was open and he was nowhere to be found."

"Darn, he's good!" Lucy muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Linda asked, having heard part of what she said.

"One of the abilities Kurth was shown capable of executing was opening doors with ropes ... wait a minute, did you have any rope in that room?" Lucy asked Henry as to put the blame on him.

"You know I always keep rope in my rooms in case I have to take any measures."

"See? Always so careless!" reproached Lucy. "You really need to grow out of your way of thinking! Animals are not just some beasts that have no brains. Some of them have more intelligence than you!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! But what are we gonna do now?" inquired Henry.

"What else, we're going to search for him."

"That's a very good idea, but we have no idea about his whereabouts," Linda reminded Lucy.

"Honestly, have you been listening to what I said yesterday, dear?" Lucy asked Linda.

"Which part? You said so much," stated Henry, who couldn't resist adding this comment.

"The part where I talked about Kurth's memento. If we find it, we find Kurth. So now, less talking, more searching!"

"Aye, aye, ma'am," Henry replied, only to be met with Lucy's glare.

They then scattered throughout Moose Lake in search of a white Barn Owl. Lucy had a great scheme stuck in her head; if Kurth's memento had been found by someone living in the town, that person would have either sold it to a jeweller or kept it. If she would have done if she had stumbled upon such a jewel without knowing it belonged to someone, she would have sold it to a specialist in jewels. So, following that flow of thoughts, she started to look out for every shop that sold jewels.

There was one shop where jewels and other such items, including a stuffed Barn Owl. Whoa! Did she see correctly? Was there seriously a Barn Owl in that shop? Was it truly dead or was it just Kurth acting up just to obtain what he wanted: the encased sapphire he so cherished. After observing the 'stuffed' owl for a long time, a burly man, probably the shop owner, came outside and asked Lucy what it was she was looking at.

"Hey! You there! Lass," the shop owner called out to Lucy. "whatcha lookin' at?"

"I was wondering where you had found that owl," Lucy lied.

"Oh, that bird. I found it in front of the shop's door this very morning, completely frozen and probably dead. Wanna take a peek at?"

"In fact, I might be interested in buying it. You see, I'm a bit of a bird fanatic."

"All right, but it ain't gonna be free. I heard those kinda owls are very rare, even in the wild," informed the shop owner.

"Don't worry, I'm ready to pay."

As she was talking to the man, Lucy couldn't help it but notice that Kurth had started to move and proceeded into taking his treasure. However, it was a little bit harder to keep her act in front of the shop owner. But she did, surprising even herself for keeping her serious through the whole scene. She then saw Kurth take another item that was on the shelves. One that Lucy didn't recognize right away.

Then, they both entered the shop and just as the door opened, Kurth quickly made his way out of the shop, unnoticed. Using the last part of the rope he had brought from Henry's clinic, he tied the second item onto his back. Probably not wanting to cause Lucy any problems, Kurth used his feathers' color to camouflage and also to make his escape a lot more easier.

"What in the name of ... it was right here a moment ago!" exclaimed the shop owner.

"Were you sure it was dead? Because from the look of this, it didn't look all that dead," Lucy remarked, fitting her role perfectly.

"Dontcha dare make fun of me, missy. It was dead alright! It wasn't even twitching or giving away any life signs, so I assume that stupid owl was dead."

"Well, anyway, looks like our deal is over, then," smirked Lucy, taunting the man.

"Wait, I could always interest you with this new piece of ...," began the shop owner before he saw the Kurth's memento has disappeared along with the owl.

"This new piece of what? Sorry, sir, but I was only interested in that owl," said Lucy before leaving the shop.

The shop owner was left completely speechless. First, he finds an incredible jewel that was certainly worth a good amount of money. Then, he found a strange white owl in front of his shop's door the next day. After that, he met this lady that was addicted to that owl and finally, both the owl and the jewel had disappeared and he lost a potential buyer. Was God not in his favor that day?

After Lucy had left the shop, she saw the the owner closed it for the day, surely trying to understand what had happened. It was of no interest to her, though, as she had to find Kurth and fast before he got himself in another mess. If it hadn't been for that brown thing attached to his back, she would have probably never been able to see him.

Kurth never expected the woman to follow him after leaving that human's shop. He still wondered what it was she wanted from him and at the same time, he tried to decide on what he would do next. He was nearly going to cross the road when someone grabbed him and held him in the air. Thinking it was that maniac from the previous day, the Barn Owl quickly turned his around and screeched at the woman who held him.

"Please stay calm, I mean you no harm. You could say I'm an acquaintance of Michael," said Lucy.

Upon hearing his friend's name, Kurth immediately calmed down and looked at Lucy with wide eyes, giving her his full attention. She told him that her name was Lucy and that she had met with Michael's ghost before he came to talk with the owl. After telling him her story, Kurth had calmed down and noticed that the woman was holding him gently and not like the other human from the day before.

—

After Lucy had found Kurth, she went to tell Linda and Henry about him. However, things did not go as planned. When Kurth laid his eyes upon Henry, he immediately began hissing at the vet. Lucy tried to calm him down but all of her attempts were unsuccessful. Kurth truly hated Henry. But who wouldn't after what he did?

In an attempt to try to calm the owl down, Lucy explained to Kurth that Henry was a somewhat afraid of birds of prey ever since a certain incident. When he was near one, he lost all of his composure and tried to stay as far away from them as possible. Although it did calm down Kurth a little, he still looked at Henry with a heinous look.

"And this is our Kurth. I know his size his quite imposing but Barn Owls aren't that large normally. He just happened to have an irregular growth," Lucy told Linda.

"He is still very handsome, even with the scars, but may I ask what it is that he is carrying on his back?" Linda asked, gesturing Kurth's sword.

"That's just another one of Kurth's belongings. He also holds it as very precious. If he would allow me to show it to you," Lucy said, glancing at Kurth to see him shake his head in agreement.

Upon receiving permission from Kurth to unsheathe his sword, Lucy did so a few moments later and showed it to Linda and Henry. They were still puzzled as to why an owl would be flying with that kind of weapon. Had he been trained to use it? And more importantly, they also noticed the the sword's blade had been died in red. While Lucy knew that it was to make it look bloody in order to scare off his opponent before he started a fight, Linda and Herny had no idea whatsoever about what an owl was supposed to do with such a weapon.

"Are you sure I should let him keep that? It doesn't look very safe, to him and to us," Linda said.

"You shouldn't try to hide it away from him, he'll find a way to go take it back. Kurth is a very intelligent bird, you know."

"Did he really use that ... sword in the past?" Henry inquired.

"Of course he did, but you don't need to be afraid, he is only skilled at using it in flight. He can still use it on the ground. His only problem is that it will make him extremely slow and unbalanced," Lucy explained.

"So, without flight, he is pretty much defenseless, right?"

To answer Henry's pointless question, Kurth just screeched at him and then returned his attention to Linda. Michael had told him that Linda would be the one who would take care of him. He had been right, though. She did accept him despite his two scars. It felt nice to finally have someone else other than Eglantine and Soren do it. Even back at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, most owls kept their distance because of the scars he bore onto his body.

"Do be careful of what you say. He is still and owl and a bird of prey," remarked Lucy.

"Do you think he'll mind if I take him in my hands?" asked Linda.

"Yes, you can. Well, we'll see how he reacts to your presence first," Lucy answered. "but please, don't let him climb on your arm. Those claws he has are quite sharp and will cause wounds."

Following her new friend's advice, Linda went to take Kurth, who didn't let out a single screech of anger or discontent. No, he just accepted Linda's care as Michael had instructed him to do. The redhead took Kurth the same way Lucy had held him. She held the owl by applying some force over his wings while trying to be as gentle as possible and even then, Kurth remained calm.

"He does seem to have already taken a liking of you, Linda!" Lucy announced.

"He's so calm," Linda said. "that it's hard to believe he's the same owl that was threatening Henry a moment ago."

"Like I said, he is very intelligent and he must no see any kind of threat coming from you. Henry, however, used another way that made Kurth dislike him."

"And, is there anything I should know before I take him home?" inquired Linda.

"Well, if you ever want to have him on your arm or shoulder, you should probably buy a glove or a pad for your shoulder as those claws he has on his feet are extremely sharp," Lucy suggested.

"Will I need to feed him with fresh meat all the time?"

"No, not really. Michael made it pretty clear to me that he loved fruits as much as he loved the preys he would capture. That way, you won't have to worry about ruining yourself by buying meat all the time."

"Then why the hell didn't he take the dried fruits I gave him?" Henry asked, once again a very stupid question.

"You just answered yourself, you idiot! He likes fresh fruits, not some dried fruits that look like pellets! Anyway, you could feed him with some meat every now and then, but he can live without it for some days," Lucy said, giving Linda her attention once more.

"Will Blu be okay with that? I mean, won't Kurth try to eat him up if he ever gets really hungry?"

"Eat Blu up? Oh, you have got to be joking!" Lucy burst into laughter. "Kurth would never even think about hurting another bird. As far as I know, the kind of birds he'd eat up are crows because he pretty much hates them."

"O ... okay! Well then, thank you for helping us with him. You don't mind if I take him to my home now?" Linda asked both Lucy and Henry.

"Don't you worry about a thing now, dear," Lucy answered. "If he really took a liking of you, he's going to respect know and before you know it, you'll be best friends with him. Not to forget the friendship he can build with Blu."

"You shouldn't worry about that. If Lucy here says it's okay, then believe me, it's really okay," Henry said.

"Thank you once more, you two!"

—

"Hey, Blu!" Linda called. "Look who I brought with me!"

When he laid his eyes on Kurth, Blu immediately hid away in fear. He kept asking himself why Linda had decided to take in such a bird. Weren't they taking a habit of eating those they considered preys, including smaller birds? And more importantly, the scars that Kurth bore scared the life out of Blu. He even wondered how the owl still managed to see with the scar passing over his eye like that.

"I know his scars do look scary, but let me assure that he is a kind and calm owl. He won't be eating you up, Blu," Linda told him.

She then let Kurth down on the table, right next to Blu and then went to do something else. By doing this, she wanted to let the two birds get to know each other before Kurth's adoption was finally made official. In size, Blu looked quite small compared to Kurth. The Barn Owl's eyes also managed to install fear in the macaw's being. From Blu's optic, they were merciless, cruel and cold. They were the eyes of a murderer.

"Hi th-there," Blu stammered, nervous and afraid. "I'm Blu, in c-case you didn't kn-know."

"Do you have a problem? You seem to have trouble speaking," Kurth stated, trying to understand why Blu was acting that way.

"No, n-not exactly. It's just my first time s-seeing an owl like you," Blu nervously replied.

"Oh, I get it...! It's the scars, isn't it?" Kurth asked.

"Yeah. How did you g-get those?"

"The one on my face was inflicted to me by my mother while this one," Kurth told Blu. "was given to me by my aunt."

"Your own family did this t-to you? inquired Blu.

"Unfortunately. However, these days, they are probably rotting in hagsmire."

"Hagsmire? W-what is th-that?"

"It's the place where owls who have committed evil things go when they die," responded Kurth.

"Oh, so it's l-like hell?"

"Hell? Is this what you call your hagsmire?"

"Yes. At l-least, that's what humans call it," Blu told Kurth

"Humans... I hope that they aren't like my mother and aunt. I'd hate to do to Linda what I did to them."

"And what e-exactly did you do to them?" Blu asked, now extremely nervous and anxious.

"I ... killed them."

"You what! Weren't they your family? Why would you do such a think to your own family!" Blu let out.

"If I hadn't, I would be dead right now. My mother tried to kill me three times and my aunt killed my best friend. I could never forgive their actions!"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't k-know about that," Blu apologized.

"Nah, don't worry about that. I came in terms with those already. But more importantly, I think it would be more appropriate if we introduced ourselves properly," Kurth suggested.

And they did. Kurth introduced himself, specifying that he did not eat birds. He added that he considered those who did cannibals. He also told Kurth that normally, he was a very kind and free spirited owl. He was not easily irritated and had a very good patience compared to many of his acquaintances. However, he was quick to tell Blu that if he ever touched his memento or his sword, he would personally deal with him.

Blu was was so scared by Kurth's warning that he immediately nodded. But he couldn't keep himself from asking the owl why he was carrying a miniature sword around. Kurth only told the macaw that he used it to fight while flying. Blu did not want to know why he would fight but one other thing caught his eye. It was the sapphire contained inside the gold case that Kurth wore around his left foot.

"Wait! Is that what I think it is?" Blu inquired, pointing Kurth's memento with one of his toes.

"What is it? Is my memento special in any way?"

"Do you have any idea what is inside that case?"

"I do think it is a sapphire, but other than that, it doesn't look that fancy or worth that much," Kurth said.

"Are you kidding me! That sapphire looks like a star sapphire. Do you an idea of how much money this is worth?"

"Not really because I never really thought about giving it away. It's the only thing that I can remember a good friend of mine by," the owl answered.

"I wasn't telling you to sell it, I was just emphasizing on the thought that it was extremely valuable and rare."

And so, the two birds began on good terms. Blu had been reassured when he learned of Kurth's usually calm nature, but he couldn't get the Barn Owl's threat out of his mind. By his looks, Kurth did seem capable of keeping that threat up and running. But instead of dwelling on that alone, he looked at the owl that was standing in front of him and not at what he used to be. It was the start of a new friendship.

—

**So, what did you think about that? I know it was a tad long, but please do keep in mind that almost all of my chapters are like this. Well, it also depends on the events taking place in said chapter but still, they mostly all keep within 4k and 9k. Now, I'm sure you were happy to finally see some of Blu in this. However, you must understand that those three chapter acted as a prologue, as you probably noticed since the events took place five years prior to the events of the movie. I figured that if I tried to put them all together, I'd probably put you all to sleep before you even finished. I rarely do above 10k words. Anyway, please share you positive, creative and/or constructive reviews in the section below. Thank you for reading The Visitor and we'll see each other in the next chapter! :)**

**The 'Other' Guardian  
><span>LordChronicler46<span>**


	4. Another Visitor

**And, welcome back y'all! I hope you had fun reading chapter 3. Also, please take note that this chapter will take place at the regular time line of the movie's plot. All three previous chapters were only acting as some kind of prologue. Nothing more, nothing less.**

**—**

**Chapter 4: Another Visitor**

Five years. Five years had already passed since Linda had taken Kurth in her care. During those five years, Kurth had the occasion to develop a strong affection towards Linda and Blu, but he didn't forget all the years he spent as a free Hoolian owl. He had gotten accustomed to the human's activities and enjoyed being in her care. It gave him a shelter due to his injured wing.

Even if five years had passed, Kurth's port wing had not regained mobility and he was still flightless. That certainly took away a certain freedom from him, but Blu and Linda's presences coped for that loss. Other than that, he and Blu became pretty much partners in crime. And he was also an irregular owl, living in the day rather than during the night.

Of course, after spending five years of doing that, he became used to it and he was kind of imprinted to humans in general, even if he still held a grudge against Henry for the treatment he received from him when Linda had first brought him the to the clinic. Still, he often wondered how all the other owls of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree were doing in his absence, especially Eglantine. During the Harvest Festival, the last event that he participated in before exiling himself, the young Barn Owl had declared her feelings to him.

It was true that he was attracted to her a bit as she reminded him of Animae, another Barn Owl he had come to raise as his own daughter. Animae had, however, been brutally killed by Nyra during an assault she launched against the Guardians. Most of the owls there thought he had deserted them before the War of the Ember, but the truth was that he was the very same hagsfiend that had given away his life to kill Nyra. The only ones who knew of that plan were those to whom he had intended a letter.

After a while, he resigned himself to the fact that he would probably die in Linda's care as his wing didn't seem to be on the way of recovery. Going back the the Great Tree slowly became an impossibility as the years passed him by although his will or spirit never left his body. To the very point where he would practice using his sword on the ground without losing too much balance or being too imprecise.

—

Linda slept peacefully, recovering from a very arduous day. Indeed, the previous day, she had a high number of visits and it had completely sapped her of the usual high reserve of energy she possessed. She had intended to sleep through a good part of the morning as it was finally the weekend but unfortunately for her, Blu had had some other plans that same morning.

At a quarter past seven exactly, just like every day, Blu once again imitated the sound of Linda's alarm clock. At first, she seemed to ignore the sound, but given some time, she brought her hand above the alarm clock and attempted to shut it down. After several attempts and some curses, she began hitting the clock with her fist until she made it fall to the ground. Still hearing the darn alarm clock's beeping, Linda took desperate measures and unplugged the annoying clock.

For a split second, Linda thought she had solved her problem until she heard the beeping sound transform into a car's horn, a car's alarm to be more precise. Upon hearing that, the redhead quickly realized what was going on and lifted the blankets she previously had above her head to see Blu standing above her.

"Good morning, Blu," Linda said, petting Blu on his neck.

Then began their daily routine. While Kurth had become a part of their little family, he didn't really participate in Blu and Linda's routine, not wanting to disturb their complicity. After all, he was still just a visitor. Sure, he was taken in by Linda five years prior to the present day, but he still felt like he didn't belong among humans. Probably due to his origins; he was the offspring of a hagsfiend and he still had a hard time dealing with it, especially since he knew how to become one.

However, it wasn't because he felt he didn't belong that he didn't help out. He might be extremely introvert, but he knew how to return a favor and that was exactly what he did every now and then. That same morning, he had prepared several things, including sections of apples, tea made with some berries with the intention of imitating the milkberry tea so common at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Some things, he left them to Blu as he had more experience than him with Linda's habits. He may have been in the cooking chaw for some time at the Great Tree, but there were many things humans did he still didn't understand perfectly. And not to forget, the markings his claws left on almost every soft surfaces. Sometimes, he envied Blu for all the things he was capable of doing.

There were still things that Kurth was able to do whereas Blu didn't even have the knowledge, such as wielding a weapon. He still missed the feeling of the steel against his talons whenever he wore battle claws, but he preferred the feeling of wielding the sword instead. In any other case, he still did his best to please those who took him in.

With the acute hearing he possessed, which was quite familiar to Barn Owls, he was able to track Linda's movements through the house. By using that, he knew exactly at which part of their daily routine Blu and Linda were. He was getting used to that life, but he really missed the part of being a free owl.

"Wow! Did you do all of this, Kurth?" Linda asked, arriving into her kitchen.

Kurth simply nodded and, sheathing his sword, he took a quarter of the apples he had cut. Having been a cook once sure helped him with many things, especially when one learns different techniques. But he didn't want to experience the nostalgia once more, so he jumped, using a rope to balance himself, down and went downstairs. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt flustered and very uncomfortable whenever Linda complimented him.

He went downstairs, where he waited for Linda and Blu to finish up whatever they would eat, and took a sip of his wannabe milkberry tea. While it lacked the unique taste that the milkberries possessed, it wasn't that bad. It did have a sour taste, but it just added to this tea's uniqueness. It wasn't long after he had already went downstairs that Linda and Blu joined him.

Continuing their routine, they started preparing the library for its opening. Even after five years, Kurth was still pretty impressed by the two friends' complicity. They were so coordinated, something that he felt with only another: Serenade. The two had been so honest to each other that after just some time, they nearly knew each other as if they had spent their lives together. The only thing that was left of Serenade was the memento he wore on his left foot.

Not desiring to break the deep bond that united the two, the Barn Owl simply remained passive and lived his lonely life just like he did so long ago. His only reason for not wanting to get too attached to anyone, even with Eglantine who had clearly expressed her feelings to him, was because he believed that death followed him wherever he went.

—

Once Blu and Linda had finished preparing the library and had officially opened it to the public for yet another day, Linda served Blu with a cup of hot chocolate along with some cookies on the side of the plate on which the cup rested.

"Ah, this is the life!" Blue let out, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Hmph, pet," Kurth muttered under his breath.

"You're the same as I am, as far as I know, Kurth," Blu replied.

"Actually, I was never found at a young age. I was actually raised in the wild until that incident that made me lose the ability to fly."

"But, Lucy said that this Michael, whoever he is, had taken care of you until he died, six years ago..."

"And you actually believed her!" Kurth exclaimed. "No one was to know who I really was, it would cause too many problems in the human world."

"Who are you, then? If it isn't too much to ask?"

"My name is Kurth, but as for my true identity, I find it better if you did not know for now," Kurth told Blu.

"Hey, this isn't rea-," Blu began before a snowball hit the window.

Both birds looked outside the window and saw two Canadian geese standing next to each other on a bench. One of those two geese had a snowball ready in her wing and was throwing it up and down. Recognizing those two as Alice and Chloe, Kurth simply ignored the geese and resumed what he was doing; sipping his tea. Blu, however, was a little bit more irritated by them as he was always the target of the two's relentless jokes.

"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite nerd bird!"

"Ver-very funny, guys. Real mature," Blu replied, a little discontent of being referred as a nerd bird.

"Hey, peck! Where are you migrating to this year, huh? The breakfast nook?" Alice tauntingly asked before throwing another snowball at the window.

"Throw all the snowballs you want, I'm protected by this magical force field called glass. It's what's keeping us so toasty and warm in here, while you're out there freezing your..."

Blu was about to finish his sentence when he saw the two geese taunting him by shaking their tail feather right in front of him. Seeing that, Kurth couldn't resist churring slightly, just enough so Blu wouldn't hear it. Normally, he would have found the situation to be pointless and completely childish, but he instead found it unusually funny.

"Hey, look! Scarface even showed his face today!"

"Excuse me! Do you care to come and say that a little bit closer, goose?" Kurth harshly replied.

"You'd better steer clear of his way. He's gonna come flying after you! Oh, wait! He can't!" Chloe burst into laughter.

"Oh, that is it!" Kurth exclaimed.

The owl grabbed his sword and a piece of robe and went to open the library's door with it. Upon getting outside, Kurth threw the piece of rope at another support and balanced himself a little before letting go of the rope, drawing out his sword and preparing an attack on the geese. A few seconds before he landed his attack, Alice and Chloe flew away, causing him to fall head first on the ground.

—

At the same time, a man wearing a scarf passed by in the street, noticing the act that Kurth put together. Wanting to examine the owl even more, he tried to walk to it, despite all the ice on the sidewalk. The man didn't seem all that experienced with walking on ice and slipped a lot before finally getting at Kurth's crash point. He took him while he was still dizzy and examined him. He did take care as Kurth still grasped on to his sword and the man didn't exactly want to get cut by that.

He then looked at the store from where he saw the white owl get out and attack the geese and saw what he was searching for. He looked at Blu with a surprised look, then began saying things in an unknown language and dropped Kurth to the ground. He went to examine Blu even more from outside the library, but he slipped on the ice and hit the window head first.

"Are you all right?" Linda inquired, alarmed of what happened before she went out and helped both the man and Kurth.

—

"I am not really built for this weather," the man admitted as he attempted to raise his body's temperature.

"Did you ... come for some books?" Linda asked, questioning the man's intentions.

"Books?" repeated the man. "No, I traveled six thousand miles looking for him."

Kurth, who was still a little dizzy, looked at the situation Blu was once again faced with and couldn't help it but churr. In a way, what the man was doing was humiliating for Blu, but it was extremely funny for anyone who watched it. After his somewhat hilarious introduction, the man, named Tulio Monteiro, explained that Blu was probably the last male of his kind, also known as the Cyanopsitta spixii.

"And, your owl is extremely special," added Tulio. "I've never seen any bird wielding any weapons, except maybe in a movie. Tell me, Linda, did you teach him to use that sword?"

"No, I actually took this owl under my care five years ago after he lost his ability to fly because of a wound he got on his right wing," Linda told Tulio.

"Do you mind if I have a look?"

"Actually, I don't mind that much," Linda said. "but he might mind. He's extremely free spirited even if he is under a human's care and I am probably the only human right now whom he respects."

"Nonsense! He'll come to like me after just a few minutes!"

Unfortunately for Tulio, he was dead wrong. As soon as he reached out his hand to Kurth, he was quickly met with a hiss. Still trying to convince the owl of his good intentions, he moved his hand closer and closer to Kurth until the owl bit him. He immediately pulled back his hand, seeing that it was bleeding, and backed away from Kurth.

"Dear God! Are you sure this owl isn't a wild one?" Tulio asked in shock.

"Well, for the five past years, he lived pretty independently. As for his past, he used to be a wild owl until he was rescued from a fatal wound inflicted to him by an eagle. I do think, however, that his previous owner let him do pretty much what he wanted so he would not lose his wild and pure spirit," Linda explained.

"In any case," Tulio said, putting a small cloth over his wound. "returning to our first subject, we've recently found a female and our hope is to bring the two of them together to save their kind."

This caused Blu to swallow loudly and made Kurth churr even more. He had been used for so long to live an easy life and he probably didn't know the first thing about mating, except by instincts. Kurth had never wanted to mate but unlike his brother Coryn, it wasn't because he was afraid of passing down the haggish blood, it was mainly because he was afraid of what would happen to his chicks in a world terrorized by his mother.

Blu, however, had never lived through that life. He instead lived his life under the sweet care of Linda. Yes, Kurth was fond of Linda, but that was it! It never went any farther than that. Michael had told him that while there were some humans that were good, most of them were cruel and selfish. That was more than enough to not trust humans and that was why he had attacked Tulio. He didn't trust him nor did he trust his intentions.

"So, wh-when can she come over?" Linda asked.

"Oh, no! She's in Brazil. Blu must come to Rio de Janeiro!" exclaimed Tulio.

"Rio ... right! In Brazil. I'm sorry, but I just can't. I can't take my eyes off of Blu, he needs me," Linda said.

"You're misunderstanding the whole situation. It's all arranged and you will be with him the whole time, along with me!"

"Look, I know that it's you job to try and convince me, but Blu is a little special. We even have our small routine here and we're not exactly big on travel. Heck, he doesn't even fly!" Linda replied.

"But of course he can!"

"Wh-what are you doing?" asked Linda, worried about what Tulio would do.

"He's a perfect specimen," stated Tulio. "and don't worry, their natural instincts always tell them to fly."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

As soon as Blu was thrown in the air, he began flapping his wings out of fear and instead of taking flight just like Tulio had expected, he plummeted straight to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, Linda quickly went to him and took him in her hands. Tulio placed a comment, which heard him a harsh glare from Linda and Blu while Kurth was thinking about how conceited that man was. He may have claimed to be an ornithologist, but he was in no way as good as Lucy had proved to be.

"It was nice of you to stop by, squawk around and throw my bird, but I think you should be on your way now," Linda said as she showed Tulio the way out.

"Wait ... wait, Linda! This could be our last chance!"

"Have a safe flight," Linda sadly replied as she guided Tulio outside.

"Linda! Please listen to me! If we don't do this, his whole species will disappear."

Linda mostly ignored him, wanting Blu's safety above all else. She did, however, take Tulio's card when he made it slide down her library's post flap. She wasn't sure what to do but somewhere deep inside her, she understood what Tulio was trying to accomplish. On the other side, though, she felt that Blu wasn't yet ready for that kind of life.

—

During the night of that same day, Blu was reading some books about the flight fundamentals and Kurth was just too curious to watch anything else. He wondered what the macaw would do. Was he actually trying to fly just from knowledge? If that was the case, then Blu would even more of a pet in Kurth's beliefs. For him, because of Grimble, flying was not only to know how to fly, it is all about believing in oneself and Blu was not doing that right now.

"Do you honestly think that you can fly because of knowledge," commented Kurth after he had heard Blu's incomprehensible enumeration of things.

"I'd like to see you try it, then!" Blu replied.

"If I could, I would show you how you can fly just fine without knowledge," Kurth said, pointing his port wing with his beak.

"Then why don't you share you secret with me, O' enlightened one!" sarcastically exclaimed Blu.

"Watch what you say, little one! I have seen more in a week back when I was wild than you did in fifteen years, locked in here!"

"I'm sorry, but you don't seem all that experienced with your scars and mangled wing."

"You are in luck, little one. If you ever had the same kind of dysfunctional family that I had, you would probably look like me right now," Kurth told Blu.

"Yes, yes, I get it," Blu rolled his eyes in boredom, tired of Kurth's endless lectures. "but do you mind jumping to the part where you actually tell me what your secret to flight is?"

"You have to believe in yourself," revealed Kurth. "if you are unable to do that, then I'm afraid that you are not going to get very, very far in the following days. You will be far from home and a visitor, just like I am."

"Great! I get to have another lecture from Kurth, the crippled owl! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to fly here."

"Fine, but try not to hurt yourself too much, lad," Kurth jokingly said.

That last comment angered Blu, but it also encouraged him to prove to Kurth that he was right. During the past five years, the two always fought against each other in a clash between knowledge and instincts. The winner of those little battles happened to be Kurth, over and over again. If he could prove him wrong just once, it would surely shut him up for a while.

Blu considered himself to be quite ready for his first attempt and lit the homemade runway. He opened his wings and begun to run. He kept encouraging himself until he was near the far end of the table he used to imitate the runway. While his confidence had been incredible at first, it was now nearly depleted and he lost all of his calm. He tried to stop, but he was already too far ahead. Finally, he grabbed the lights that were on the sides with his beak.

Still, his weight made it so that eventually, the cord to which he held on got loose and he fell down. He did not hit the floor, though. Instead, he got entangled in the cord and he pretty much looked like feathery Christmas tree to Kurth. He had tried his best to hold his laughter but when he saw Blu being completely helpless, dangling upside down, he burst into laughter.

Soon after, Linda came to see what was happening as she had probably heard Blu screw up majorly. She helped him and then told it that it was getting late and they they probably all needed a good night's sleep. Deep down inside his gizzard, Kurth felt that Linda had decided to travel to Brazil in order to save a species that was on the decline.

The next morning, Linda had a small discussion with Blu, in which she managed to convince him into going to Rio de Janeiro. While he still seemed a little uncertain in that decision, he still decided that he would at least try to see who this other blue macaw was. And to encourage him even more into coming, Linda told him that they would be home before they would even know it.

As for Kurth, Linda thought about it for a long time. If she were to bring him along with her, she was worried about how he would react to the others in Rio. Of course, it wasn't until she realized that the owl would probably try to kill anyone other than her that she decided on bringing him along. She had also noticed over the five years she had him that he was extremely introvert with humans, not wanting to even listen to them. He often hissed at most of them.

—

"I still can't believe she brought you along after what you did to Tulio!" Blu sighed, disappointed in Kurth's behavior towards humans.

"Hey, it ain't my fault if I don't like them humans! Plus, Linda had warned him about me, so he brought it upon himself," Kurth replied.

"You are incorrigible, my friend!"

"If you say so, Blu. If you say so."

And then, they were boarded in the plane and put in the section reserved to pets. Both of them had been placed in different cages, Blu in a yellow one while Kurth had one that was black. He had never liked cages, preferring the freedom that flying and walking offered. He wasn't a simple pet like Blu was, he needed freedom and Linda knew it all too well.

—

**And that's about it for chapter 4. I know that the dialogues are quite the same as those of the movies, which I DO NOT own, but what would you expect from a story that develops more around the psychological aspect of a certain character. Don't worry, the next chapter are going to be a lot more original than this one. So stay tuned as Kurth and Blu are headed to Rio.**

**The 'Other' Guardian  
><strong>**LordChronicler46**


	5. Truth Exposed

****After a long wait, and a depression, here I am. Back in action for another chapter of the Visitor. This time, it will be a long conversation between some characters, including our favourite blue macaw and Barn Owl. Other than that, I am terribly sorry for the long wait, but I had some things that I needed to tend to and I still need to do it so expect lesser updates from me as of this chapter. Oh, and Rio and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole do ****NOT**** belong to me, they belong to their rightful owners. I only own Kurth and the plot.****

**—**

**Chapter 5 : Truth Exposed**

After the little show Tulio had put up in Linda's library, the redhead had decided to accept the Brazilian ornithologist and brought along Kurth as well so he wouldn't try to tear anyone's eyes out. In the plane that was supposed to bring them to Brazil, Blu and Kurth decided to have a long and fruitful conversation to set things straight as to who Kurth truly was after his act in Minnesota.

"So, do you mind telling me who you really are now, Kurth, if that's really your name?" Blu asked, a little aggressive.

"And why is it that you doubt me now, my young friend?" Kurth shot back, evading Blu's question.

"Because you said that you were no pet back in Minnesota!" Blu answered abruptly. "And now, answer my question, Kurth!"

"Ah, such haste is the symbol of youth. However, it is true that I am not a pet and clearly not acquainted to any humans. Linda is an exception because I was instructed by Michael to accept her care. If not for that, I wouldn't even allow her to get close to me."

"Wait, I don't think I follow you here!" Blu let out, confused. "How could Michael, who died nearly a year after Linda found you, have instructed you to do something. The theory revolving around the dead walking among the living is quite unreal, if not just some myth."

"Do not desecrate his name, Blu! He and I have endured, lived and saw more than you could have ever seen, in that comfy cage of yours!" Kurth exclaimed, enraged by Blu's theory about Michael's ghost being just the work of his imagination.

"Apart from those scars you bear, Kurth, you don't seem all that menacing...," Blu replied.

"Watch your words, young friend, for I used to be quite the murderous owl in my days, slaughtering any who dared cross my path. I have shed more blood than many of my kind, and maybe even more than my twisted mother, who was a true terror. However, in the end, I died like the one I wanted to be; a Guardian of Ga'Hoole," Kurth explained.

"Ga'Hoole? Why is this so familiar to me? Where have I heard or read about that?" Blu muttered to himself.

"It should be familiar to you, if you have an interest in reading, since there exist a series of books titled after that name: the Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. Michael was the one who showed them to me when we were together."

"But … that's impossible! They are the work of someone's imagination. They are but fiction!" Blu let out, astonished by Kurth explanation.

"Your reaction is quite normal, my young friend," Kurth spoke up. "but I was just the same as you are right now when _he_ explained that to me. After all, we Hoolian owls were sure that humans had gone extinct long ago while humans thought that owls of our stature never existed. There should also be another book you should be interested in, if you like what goes beyond the simple thought pattern humans are accustomed to use. It is entitled _The 'Other' Guardian_ and was written by none other than my good friend Michael."

"But then, what are you doing here if you are one such owl?" Blu asked.

"When Michael brought me back to life at the expense of his own mortal life, he promised me that we would meet again someday and that if I wanted to see him once more, I would need to fly past the Beyond the Beyond, an area that is said to be the farthest any owl has ever flown to. Truth is, I am probably the only Hoolian owl that has ever went that far."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kurth, a Barn Owl originating from the Forest Kingdom of Ambala. Son of the High Tyto and Nyra, the dreaded owl that I used to call my mother. I was once a member of the Pure Ones, though the death of my father made me change side after I learned that my aunt and mother planned his death so the last High Tyto could be named. I still remember his name clearly," Kurth told Blu.

"Who was it?" Blu asked, interested in Kurth's tale.

"He bore the name Metal Beak because half of his face had been torn off by my father in an attempt to protect his own life and wore a metal mask to cover his wounded face. I did the same thing, but with a helmet, after my mother, Nyra, inflicted me with this wound. While I was intended to die the night I was inflicted this wound, I survived thanks my friend's care," Kurth related, pointing the scar on his face.

"Your own mother … did that to you? How cruel!" Blu let out.

"It might sound cruel to you, but for my mother, it was like killing any other prey she would stumble upon. I was an obstacle in her plans and she needed me gone in order to complete them. In the end, I claimed her life at the price of my own, in a raging volcano. That day, the Great Ga'Hoole Tree lost two of its most valiant owls. My brother and I were both declared dead that night."

"As you said earlier, is Michael behind all of your resurrection?" Blu inquired, trying to understand the situation.

"Yes, I was so sad when he told me that for me to come back amongst the living, he needed to take my place, to die in my stead. I protested against his choice, but his mind was already set and before I could do anything to stop him, he had already exchanged our places. He was the one whom I trusted most, my confident, we were one and he broke that in a few seconds," Kurth said, tears falling down his eyes.

"Wait, you were … one? What does that mean?"

"We were two minds sharing the same body, so in a sense, we were one. Our thoughts may have differed but in the end, everything we did was for the other's safety. He watched out for me and I did too. But you should have seen the reaction of the Great Tree's owls, especially Soren and Eglantine, when the saw me fly through the moon's pale light. It was absolutely priceless! They even thought I was a scroom!" churred Kurth.

"So, you and he were like two sides of the same coin," Blu stated.

"Indeed, he taught me so many things about this world, but when it came down to his own family, he preferred to keep the subject down. I figured it was because he didn't want to talk about it."

"Although I do disapprove with you laughing about those other owls' reactions. Do you know how worried you must have made them become when you died? Or how sad they were after discovering your death?"

"Yes, I did think it through, but even now, I have no regret of what I have done back then. Especially after what I became; I wouldn't even have blamed them if they had never wanted to hear of me again."

"Why? What did you do?" Blu asked.

"I transgressed the laws of magic. While the some of the Great Tree's owls were busy reading the Legends of Ga'Hoole, Michael sent me into his memories of those legends, a thousand years in the past. During the time I spent there, I fell deeply in love with another bird, belonging to a group of creatures that were known for their malice and evil presences. At some point, I saved her from the death she was supposed to have suffered in the legends. However, before I did that, I sought the wisdom of one of those creatures, known as hagsfiends, in order to become one of those supposed evil creatures," Kurth explained.

"And then what? Did she listen to your words?"

"Yes … and no," Kurth admitted.

"What happened?"

"She did hear me out at first, but in order for me to earn her favour, I was to carry out a special task for her. Something I did not quite understand at first."

"What was?" Blu asked, now incredibly interested in the owl's story.

"She wanted me to get rid of another hagsfiend that had been meddling in her affairs. Since her killing that hagsfiend would surely spark some unnecessary trouble for her, she needed another to do her dirty work. And it just happened that I was ready to do just about anything in order to become a hagsfiend."

"And was there a reason as to why you wanted to become one such creature?"

"Actually, there was," Kurth replied. "you see, I was told something before being sent back in time, inside Michael's memories of the past. It went like that: is something depicted as evil truly evil or is it our fear of the unknown that makes us afraid of it?"

"Hum, quite the philosophical remark. Whoever said this must have spent a lot of time dealing with what was good or evil … or thought that both sides weren't the best option for the whole, as if neutrality was some kind of answer to the world's problems," Blu pondered.

"That was my way of seeing things back then. I began thinking that neutrality could be the solution to the war that was raging in the Northern Kingdoms in the times of legends. That was the main reason to why I wanted to become a hagsfiend, to see if they were really the evil creatures owl kind described them to be."

"So, is there any kind of link to what you are telling me right now and what you told me back then about you not blaming your friends for wanting to forget about you because I am having trouble to see them," Blu said.

"Of course there is, and I was just about to go over that point, my young friend," Kurth replied, overly enthusiastic of Blu's response to his situation. "but you must learn to control your haste."

That comment earned Kurth a small glare from Blu. While he did find the story of the Barn Owl quite interesting, much more than most books he read back in Minnesota, he quite disliked the owl's sarcasm and riddles, something he guessed he picked up from Michael. It wasn't really the way he brought his sarcasms and riddles that, but the way he said them with his nonchalant tone.

But Blu knew better than to try to change Kurth's attitude. He was a very firm and stubborn owl, but inside was one of the most caring and noble soul he had ever observed in the past. He couldn't be defined by what he said and thought, but by what he did, through his heart and gizzard. He also bore no prejudice towards those who were close to him, or even far away.

"In any other case, the is a strong link between what I have been telling and my relationship with the owls of Ga'Hoole. And it all started when I did the hagsfiend's bidding," Kurth explained. "and after I fallen in love with Lutta, the hagsfiend that seduced my heart."

"Was she special in any way to you?" Blu asked.

"Oh, yes! But she wasn't like all the other hagsfiends. She had been dubbed a changeling by that other hagsfiend, who raised her like a mother. Which meant that she was able to assume the form of any kind of owl with ease, using nachtmagen, or dark magic if you want."

"How can such a thing be possible? There's no such things as shapeshifting birds!" Blu protested.

"During the time of legends in the Ga'Hoolian world, anything was possible, Blu and that is no lie!" Kurth met with Blu in attitude. "Lutta was who she was and I loved her for trait. She was so pure and yet, she loved another while I fell for her, so I sought the help of the one that had created her to see if there was any way I could become a hagsfiend. I had in my mind a plan to experience what the owls disliked about the hagsfiends."

"Really, so you were in a difficult relationship back then?"

"Yes, I was nearly invisible to her at first, since she loved Hoole, the founder of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and the first true king. All that changed when she was forced by Kreeth, that other hagsfiend I told you about, to kill Hoole in order to obtain the wolf ember, an ember that was deemed to contain so much magic that if it befell in the wrong talons, it could twist the world apart. She rebelled against Kreeth, but not before her fyngrot made Lutta attack Hoole."

"Fyngrot? What is that?" Blu inquired.

"It is a spell that belonged to the nachtmagen and the hagsfiends. It usually stunned the target and after some time, all feelings of the gizzard become numb. In her case, Kreeth used a very powerful fyngrot, affecting Lutta's actions. I followed her, being aware of the situation, as I had watched from a distance. When I saw one of the Ga'Hoolian owls closing in on Lutta, I did not hesitate for a single moment and beheaded that owl with the ice scythe I was carrying at that time, a weapon used mostly by the hagsfiends."

"You … actually beheaded another?" Blu asked, completely speechless.

"Yes, and while I did not regret it at first, I did after some time passed, I even thought about it when I was brought back to the present. I took the life of another because of my love, and it hadn't been until then that the one I loved realised how much I cared for her. Some would have lost their senses after such a thing."

"The pain and guilt must have been intense, but what exactly happened after you slew that other Ga'Hoolian owl?"

"Ah, her name was Strumajen, Strix Strumajen to be exact, and after I killed her, I warned that if I spotted any of them following Lutta and I, I would take care of them, even if it had been Hoole. As predicted, none dared to come after us."

"Did this Lutta accept your care at first?" Blu inquired.

"Very good question, my friend. Well, to be honest, she did reject me at first and quite resented me for taking her away from the one she loved. I tried explaining to her that if I hadn't acted the way I did, she would've have died for nothing, but she never wanted to listen to anything I had to say," said Kurth.

"Sounds to me like she had a reason to act like that," Blu stated.

"Oh but she did! She claimed that I was just like Kreeth, another heartless being that had nothing but darkness in his gizzard. It wasn't until I calmed her down with one of my songs that she finally decided to hear me out."

"You … sing? That hardly seems possible," Blu replied, trying to hide his laughter.

"Laugh all you want but know that I only relate you the whole truth about my story. But in any case, once she resigned to listen to me, I explained her everything I had done, seen and experienced. When told that I also held something against Kreeth, she became a lot more responsive to my explanations."

"I am actually more surprised than amused, but go on."

"Right …," Kurth replied, doubtingly. " well, in any case, once I explained myself to Lutta, she began to understand a lot more why I had acted the way I did. And, during the remaining time that I spent in the past, Lutta and I mated but at first, I still remained as an owl but I lacked one detail at that time, one that was unbeknownst to my knowledge then."

"And what was it? What you ignored?"

"That an union between an hagsfiend and an owl cannot produce a chick. Eggs can be laid, but they never hatch. In an attempt to allow our love to flourish, I transgressed the laws of magic. I, an ordinary Barn Owl, called upon the sinister powers of nachtmagen and willingly became a hagsfiend. And, according to the laws of good endings, we lived happily ever after."

"And what did the Guardians do about you two?" Blu asked.

"Nothing," Kurth answered.

"Nothing?"

"Exactly! But it was not easy to gain their trust. I went on as an emissary to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and while most of them proved to be cautious, even menacing, I did not give in to their threats. And after a while, I finally gained an audience with King Hoole. I told him my identity, my intentions and my demands."

"And did he accept them?"

"At first, he was hesitating and his counsellor, Grank was higly against our existence. But, after much debate, we came to an understanding. As long as I could live in peace, secluded from the world with my dear Lutta, and as long as he would not hear anything about hagsfiend, we had our treaty and so, we truly lived in peace, until time called me back to my own era where I became a hagsfiend to slay my mother, at the sake of my own life."

"Hey, if you two are done talkin', some of us here would like to sleep," complained a green cockatoo.

"Calm down, you whining bag of feathers! You'll get your sleep soon as I have finished my tale."

"Finally, some peace of mind!" whined a blue parrot.

"Ja! I vas getting tired of zis nonsense about ze Great Ga'Hoole Tree," said a Whiskered Screech-Owl.

"Quit whining all of you, at least I was kind enough to teach you about the Hoolian history."

"Do we look like we were interested in you stupid history. We ain't fancy like you, mate!" replied the cockatoo.

"Fine then, suit yourself, you stubborn bird!" Kurth replied aggressively before he went to sleep.

Feeling a little uncomfortable in all of this, Blu did the same as Kurth and went to sleep, wanting to be in a good shape when they would land in Rio de Janeiro, their destination and the place where he was supposed to meet with another of his kind, supposedly the last female of his kind. He was still having a bad time dealing with all of this, but he knew that if he was prepared, it wouldn't go badly

He just hoped he was right, though.

—

When Kurth awoke, it was when he felt a great tremor that shook him out of his sleep. Wondering what it was, he tried to ask Blu about the origin of the tremor but as he observed, the blue macaw was still very fast asleep so he would have to hold his question for when he would wake up.

"You mean to tell me that you've never been in a plane before?" asked the parrot.

"No, never. I was a free owl five years ago until I lost the mobility of my port wing. Since then, I have been under the care of a human and this is my first time taking a 'plane' as you call this."

"Oh, brother! In what kind of hole were you livin' here, mate?"

"I was living in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree six years ago and here I am, in a plane and heading for Rio de Janeiro," Kurth replied.

"Ja, about zat … vat you felt vas ze plane's landing gear. Ve are in Rio," announced the Whiskered Screech.

"We're already there!" Kurth exclaimed inquiringly. "And here I thought I could get some more sleep than that."

"Tough luck, mate! But at least, we won't have to listen to your fairy tales anymore."

"Quit picking on him, guys. You have no proofs to deny him with and he doesn't look like the type to make stories up. His scars should give that away," Blu told the other birds after waking up moments before.

"Any kind of bird can get scars like those, but to survive the wound is a whole other matter and survive I did, without as much as an outside help of some sort," Kurth added.

"Yeah right!" barked the parrot. "None of your scars are gonna make you more attractive or popular. You're just a lonely owl seeking attention."

"Do be careful with your choice of words, you lousy bag of feathers! I have seen more deaths and shed more blood than anything you saw in your miserable life," Kurth exclaimed, swelling up to twice his size.

"Kurth … calm down. They aren't worth your time. If you want, get some rest and I'll deal with them," Blu proposed.

"All right, Blu. Thanks, friend."

As Blu proposed him, Kurth went back to sleep and although he did not have Madame Plonk's singing to lull him to sleep, he did his best to ignore the three meddlesome birds and at the same time, plunge into the abyss of slumber. He wished for a dream, but ever since he had parted ways with Michael, he became unable to make use of his starsight, even normal dreams were lacking from his sleep.

It tormented him sometimes, to know that he couldn't dream anymore. He had yearned to dream of Lutta, of Eglantine, and everyone else who were burned down in his memory. But mourning on his lost ability would not bring it back to him, so he decided to forget about it and instead opted for some rest.

—

When Kurth woke up again, it was because of Blu calling out to him. He had trouble opening his eyes, due to the intense sunlight that faced him. He had hardly seen such a strong light before and when he did saw it, it was on certain days back in the land of Ga'Hoole. Once he was fully awoken, Kurth looked around him and saw quite a vivid environment.

All the humans around were strangely dressed, at least they were fancier than Tulio was. Some of them got too close and Kurth replied with a screech that drove some of them away, He didn't like humans, like he had related to Blu and he wasn't afraid to show it to them that he wished to make no ties with the creatures Michael resented so much.

"Just calm down, Kurth … I don't think they mean us harm. Sure they do look a little scary but I still don't think they actually mean to harm us," Blu told Kurth.

"Maybe so, but that won't make me like them any more than I already do, which equals to nearly nothing," replied Kurth, turning his attention to some other point.

"Oh, come now, Kurth!" Blu let out, slightly angered by Kurth's hate towards humans. "You know that you won't get any acquaintances by acting so tough and rigid."

"As if I needed them! I never exactly needed anyone to help me up until now and that … wait! Do you hear that, Blu?"

"Hear what?" asked a confused Blu.

"Some kind of rhythm and its close by."

And he was right, nearly seconds later, Blu looked up and saw a canary and a cardinal singing and dancing to their music and rhythm. At first, they didn't take notice of Blu until he indirectly approached them. Kurth was not sure if they had noticed him, but if they didn't, he thought that it was for the best. He was hospitable towards some other birds, but that didn't mean that he liked them all.

After noticing him, the two small birds went ahead and addressed Blu. At first, he thought that they spoke a foreign language, namely the official language of Brazil, Portuguese, so he took the English-Portuguese translation book he had in his cage, an act that Kurth found quite useless as he had nearly always spoken to others in Hoolian and rarely did he make use of Krakish.

In any case, since Blu's foot was not adapted like the humans' fingers, the blue macaw managed to drop his book. Following this unfortunate event, Blu still tried to talk to the two birds, telling them that he was not from Rio. The two birds looked at them and by their mood and actions, Kurth came to the conclusion that they were laughing.

"Hey, Nico! I think he's a visitor," the cardinal said to the canary.

"Funny, he doesn't look like one," the canary, named Nico, replied.

"Except you got pigeon doodle on your beak."

"Oh, no, no, no. That's just … SPF three thousand," said Blu, wiping off the sun cream of his beak with his wing.

"Ah! That is so classic of you, my young friend," Kurth told Blu mockingly, churring at the same time.

"You know this scary owl?" asked the cardinal.

"Unfortunately," Blu sighed, almost as if he intended to taunt Kurth.

"So, are you here for carnival?"

"Not quite, he's here in a romantic quest to meet a female, in hopes of maybe mating," Kurth told Nico.

"Oh, you're the romantic kind of bird, aren't ya! Well, I've got one tip for you around here...," the cardinal began.

"... And that's to make the first move. Brazilian birds respond to confidence, pal," Nico continued.

"Confidence, right..."

"Something you seem to lack most of the time, Blu," Kurth once again mockingly commented.

"Haha, very funny, Kurth," Blu sarcastically replied.

"Anyway, it's all in the swagger," the cardinal said.

"But first, we gotta bust you out," Nico said.

"There's no chance that will happen, friend. That cage isn't made to be simply broken open like that."

"Just sit there and watch! I'm gonna pop that cage like a soda can!" The cardinal exclaimed before attempting to break the cage.

Over the next few minutes, Kurth couldn't help it but churr at the cardinal, whose name happened to be Pedro according to Nico. He considered Pedro's attempts to be completely and utterly futile. The bars of Blu's cage were made out of iron, a material Kurth was all too familiar with, and any normal birds wouldn't be able to break those bars open.

"You call that poppin'? Nico asked.

"Darn, that thing's robust!" exclaimed Pedro.

"And it should be, iron is not to be broken by normal birds and only a few know the methods to do so," Kurth stated.

"Then, tell me, O' mighty Kurth, do you possess that knowledge?" Blu sarcastically asked.

"Why, of course! Being a blacksmith does help one to understand metals and their flaws and this is why my feathers are a little more sooty. Once, my feathers were pure white but after all the time I spent in a forge, well this was the result," Kurth explained, looking at his breast feathers to show the others the effect of being a blacksmith.

"Whoa! Birds can be smiths now?" Nico asked.

"Well, yes they do. At least, they do in the Southern and Northern Kingdoms."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, owl, but I'll just act like I did," Pedro said.

And by the way, you guys … there's no need to get out of this cage. It's great," Blu told the two birds.

"Alright then, suit yourself, fella," sighed Nico.

After the canary and cardinal left, Kurth was relieved of their departure since he was beginning to get annoyed of the birds' constant questioning. Not only were they always asking useless questions but he also disapproved their actions. He had never resorted to such actions in his life before, quite preferring the advantages loneliness had brought him in his life.

As for Blu, he was quite angered at Kurth's behaviour because he always made sarcastic or mocking remarks. When they were alone, he could stand it but when they were in front of other birds, he felt as if he was always humiliated by the owl who, according to the macaw, put his own achievements above everyone else's.

Soon, the two caged birds saw Linda come at the back of the car they were in. She opened the cages and then put on her glove in order to get Kurth on her arm without having his claws sink in her skin. As for Blu, he climbed on her shoulder. Then, they looked ahead and saw what seemed to be an large building that happened to be an aviary, at least according to Tulio. Blu would begin another challenge in there, one he wasn't accustomed to.

Life was calling...

—

**Well, this is it for today. Please note that after this, the story will concentrate more on Kurth's POV, mainly because of an event that will take place in the next chapter. And I will still apply my signature style, which revolves around the psychological aspect of a character. While Blu is part of the story, Kurth happens to be the main character of the fanfic. In any case, come back in great numbers for the next chapter of _The Visitor_.**


	6. The Innocent, The Fool and The King

**Well, this chapter may be a little bit more earlier than what I had first planned, but then again, I am still awfully late in my updates and I am terribly sorry for that. I will get some liberty in the following weeks so be sure to keep logged in to see my updates. And please you guys, give me some comments because it is sad to see all you readers read, and read, and read without ever reviewing, thus never expressing your opinions. Do not be afraid telling me your opinions, as long as they're not just negative and hateful, for all of you have the right to convey the world your opinions. Anyhow, let's get on to the story and see how Kurth will react to his new environment.**

****Diclaimer********: I do not own Rio or the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. They belong to their respective owners. But I do own Kurth, Serenade and the plot. So if you want to use them, ask me before you do it.****

**—**

**Chapter 6: The Innocent, The Fool and The King**

Upon entering Tulio's aviary in Rio de Janeiro, Kurth had stayed on his guard in case any of the humans would try to do something funny. It was a shame, though, that he had forgotten his sword in the cage he was placed in. He had trained long enough with his new style during five years that passed that he had nearly mastered that style. It had taken him a lot of time to use his sword on the ground instead of using it during flight.

Balance had been his best friend during those five years, as it was what enabled him to stay in place while sheathing and unsheathing the weapon. Blu had always observed the owl with care, and he did his best not to get in his way whenever the Barn Owl was training, away from disapproving eyes. He had sneaked away in silence many a time to train and he had improved his sword skills even more than when he was amongst the owls of Ga'Hoole.

But something in the aviary felt wrong. A presence somewhere in the aviary gave him that feeling and he wasn't exactly reassured about that. He kept wondering who might be the cause of his feeling, be it human or bird. He saw many birds in the building that belonged to Tulio, whom he kept designating as a crazed doctor. Sure, he did not resemble Nyra, and he didn't feel any kind of cruelty in him like his mother had but he still didn't like the man.

"Say, is something disturbing him?" Tulio asked Linda, gesturing Kurth while making sure his fingers were away from him.

"I quite don't know," admitted Linda. "since there are many things about Kurth I don't understand, especially his solitary nature."

"His behavior differs from what I have observed through all my years of practice," Tulio revealed.

'_That's because they did not come from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, you idiot! Some of them don't even know who Glaux is!_' Kurth raged inside, refraining from screeching at the ornithologist.

"Like I said, he eludes me most of the time. It's like he has this way of thinking that somehow differs from the standards and join a little bit more our way of thinking as a society," Linda replied.

This earned Linda a quick nod from Kurth and just when Tulio was about to object against that, probably in the objective of making it clear that birds were birds, even if they were highly intelligent, the Barn Owl looked at the man and slightly hissed at him, showing his disagreement with the man's opinions towards owls.

If Kurth could express himself freely and in the human tongue, he would tell Tulio his experience, all the time he spent as a homeless owl, the deaths he witnessed, the society present at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, he would tell him of all that just to silence the ornithologist, who was either lacking experience or just being overly incompetent.

"See … that's why I told you that Kurth sometimes eludes me. At one point, he may look like he is completely ignoring you and the moment you utter one simple word he recognizes, he's all over you."

"If I had more time, I would surely examine him in order to understand his background. Maybe it could help me figure out his coldness," Tulio stated.

Once again, Tulio was met by Kurth's resentful stare. He did not, and he emphasized on that thought, want to be near Tulio alone. He found the Brazilian man to be far too inexperienced to examine him. He would rather pluck out the man's eyes before being locked up in a room with him and all of his tools.

"On second thought, maybe I won't," Tulio nervously stuttered, a little bit more afraid of Kurth's reaction.

"Well, if he wasn't so thick-headed, you could have probably examined him but at the moment, I think he'd rather pluck out your eyes than to have you examine him," Linda told Tulio.

'_I couldn't have agreed more with you, Lin — wait a second there! I'm what_?' Kurth exclaimed in his mind after realizing the potential insult, or compliment, that Linda's last remark contained.

"Oh, don't worry, Linda. I'll crack his shell someday and then he'll let me approach him. Without having to fear his actions."

'_Sure, and fishes are going to grow wings and join owls in flight_,' Kurth sarcastically replied to the man mentally.

Kurth did not trust the man well enough to let him do anything near him. Heck, he didn't trust him enough to let him write down a single note down while he was close by. But no one could possibly blame him, though. After all, he had heard Michael's explanations about the humans and it wasn't something he would ignore so easily. And then, he had lived through his mother. It took, by his standards, overwhelming willpower to live through that hagsfiend.

"But in any case, let me show you around and then we'll introduce Blu to Jewel," Tulio said enthusiastically.

He then took a few steps forward and in less than twenty seconds, his arms, shoulders and head became perches for the many birds that were allowed to fly free around the aviary. Kurth was somehow surprised to witness such as thing as he still judged the ornithologist to lack charisma, and in a vast amount. He started thinking that maybe his attitude _was_ at the cause of it all.

Blu was, however, a bit more disgusted when he saw Tulio take a sack of seeds and poured part of its content in his mouth. That act alone wasn't exactly what disgusted him the most. What did was when a bird, a small one at that, perched on the man's lower lip and feasted on some of the seeds inside his mouth.

"Gross!" Kurth and Blu muttered simultaneously, thus provoking laughter on both sides.

"They really love you!" Linda let out, astonished by the affection and trust the birds showed towards Tulio.

"Yes, I'm like their big mother bird. Anyway, this also happens to be the very heart and soul of our aviary," Tulio explained before asking Linda if she wanted some of the seeds he had in his mouth.

"But more importantly, why are all those birds here?" Linda asked, after having kindly declined Tulio's offer.

"Most of the birds here were rescued from smugglers and, unfortunately, some of them died in the process."

"Smugglers!" Linda exclaimed, appalled by the fact that some humans would actually capture birds for their own gains.

"Yes, an abduction of some sort happened some time ago. Most of these birds were treated without the proper care. Here, they receive the proper care they require and with it, they can be saved. Like this one," Tulio said as they approached a cockatoo.

The cockatoo was covered in white feathers, with some yellow feathers on the top of his head. He looked old and sick, according to Blu. But Kurth did not do anything. He never even blinked when he saw the cockatoo, as if he payed no attention to the bird. Blu couldn't decide if the owl was simply ignoring the cockatoo, or if something kept his mind busy. Whatever the cause was, Blu was unsure what the owl was doing and _that_ scared him.

Indeed, the last time Kurth had pondered on a thought for a long period of time, Blu thought the owl would make him mad. The Barn Owl was gifted with ingenuity, that much was already clear to the macaw, but he sometimes acted as if he was deranged. His ideas, plans and wishes were not normal ones. Especially when it concerned Alice and Chloe, the two geese that picked on both of them.

Unbeknownst to Blu, there was a simple reason as to why Kurth was so passive and unresponsive. It was because something about the cockatoo made him feel uncomfortable. No matter what he tried to think or do, the insecurity that tormented him came back. There was something about that cockatoo he could not sense, something he feared. He only hoped he wouldn't resemble Nyra or Kludd in character.

However, Kurth knew that if he made any sudden moves, he would have to endure Linda's lectures once more. So he tried his best to pay no mind to the insecurity that possessed him, although it did not work out that well. If he screeched at the white-feathered bird, he would get into unnecessary trouble, and that was one of the things he wanted to avoid.

"Get well soon!" Blu wished the cockatoo with the intention to cheer the old-looking bird.

But Blu was soon met by the cockatoo's fierce glare, something the cerulean bird found to be quite … uncomfortable. As they passed the bird to move on to another part of the aviary, Kurth could have sworn he saw the cockatoo looking at his left foot, the same foot on which Serenade's memento was attached.

It was then that Kurth wished he had his sword with him, even if he did no use it. At least, he could have posed more as threat than what he actually posed; a wounded owl under a human's care. He had hated to be called a pet by the two Canadian geese back in Minnesota for a long time, and while he knew that he would have perished if not for Linda's care, he would have preferred to stay the lonely owl he was.

"So, where's Jewel?" Linda queried Tulio, as if to break the foul mood that reigned over Kurth and Blu.

"Oh, we keep her in a different area. You see, Jewel is a very free spirited bird," Tulio answered.

'_Seems like the kind of bird I could grow to like_,' Kurth told himself.

"Yeah, I'll say!" complained one of the employees.

At first, Kurth and Blu thought that he was just complaining about Jewel's temperament but when they saw the man's face, their expression changed all of a sudden. The man had bruises and cuts that covered his face, most of them caused by Jewel if the two birds had to guess. It installed fierceness into Kurth as he would surely enjoy talking to such a bird while Blu was filled with fear.

"She did that! Ah, charming! Can we go home now?" Blu pleaded, as he did not want to stay and meet with Jewel anymore.

"Oh, no! Don't worry! We're going to make you irresistible," Tulio told Blu, a grin appearing on his face.

"And I'm sure that by irresistible, he means incredibly ridiculous!" Kurth churred, hardly able to control his laughter.

And it was, at least for Kurth. Blu looked like he came out of the Extreme Makeover studio with the afro his feather made at the top of his head. He looked like anything but charming. Kurth hadn't seen such a thing at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and if he ever saw it, he was sure that the owl in question would be questioned as to why he was looking the way he did.

But, to Blu's enormous displeasure, Kurth's fun had just begun as the blue macaw was sent into the cage in which Jewel was supposed to be. As soon as Blu was sent into the cage, he began panicking and pleaded the humans to let him back into the aviary. Again, Kurth couldn't help but notice that once again, the cerulean bird lacked confidence when he needed it most.

To encourage Blu into delving deeper into the cage, Tulio lighted up the cage to allow the blue macaw to advance forward without having to fear every leaves and sticks on the ground. Because, Kurth knew it well, Blu was scared of almost everything that was unknown to him, including even the smallest of bugs. Those were needless fears, but it would only make sense if Blu had suffered from a trauma.

On the screen in front of Linda and Tulio, Kurth observed Blu as he walked forward shyly, only to stop suddenly. The Barn Owl outside the cage didn't have to wonder why he did for too long why the cerulean bird stopped as the camera inside the cage moved to show another macaw. If Kurth had to guess, he would wager that this new macaw was Jewel.

Her feathers had an azure color and she was descending quickly, exactly where Blu was located. She had that fierce look in her eyes, one that Kurth recognized as being a fearless look. He once possessed such a look, but after some time, he only came to use it when prompted or when his life was in danger. The same could be applied if his friends' lives were endangered.

In any case, in a flash, Jewel had Blu pinned down, a claw on his throat, and she was threatening him. Fortunately, he managed to get out of this delicate situation by, according to what Kurth had observed, explaining himself to Jewel. But it suddenly became a lot more funnier when Jewel got a hold of Blu and dragged him along.

The cerulean macaw's face was priceless. He stuttered on Jewel's words and his reddened face made it even more enjoyable for Kurth. Of course, if he had been put under the same situation, he would have surely just ignored the other that was fliving him. However, the owl was overly conscious that Blu did not possess the character he did.

The lights suddenly went out in the cage and they were instead replaced by the purple circles made by the disco ball hanging inside the cage, just next to Blu and Jewel. Not some time after Tulio had replaced the white lights by the disco ball, Jewel tackled Blu down the tree they were perched on.

'_Ah, young love!'_ Kurth slightly churred. '_Such a beautiful, yet confusing thing_.'

However, he became overly alert when Tulio made mention that he and Linda should leave the aviary to let Blu and Jewel 'mate'. That would not be the case, though. But Kurth didn't intend to follow the humans and instead decided to remain within the aviary to find out why he was so distrustful of the cockatoo. To begin, he would need his sword and it was still in his cage back in Tulio's car

So, he jumped down Linda's arm, much to her surprise and made a run for the entrance they first entered an hour before. Not quite understanding his behavior, Linda simply followed the Barn Owl and when he arrived at the door they had first entered the aviary, she opened the door for him when she realized that he was heading outside.

Completely puzzled by the owl's reaction, Tulio was trying to understand what Kurth was so excited about. It wasn't until Linda let him go in his cage and then got out of it with some strange thing in his talon. When he asked Linda what it was, she just said that it was something he could use to defend himself and stand guard in the aviary.

After Linda and Tulio had left Kurth inside the aviary, he watched as Sylvio, the guard that Tulio had hired, stood guard. At first, the guard seemed extremely serious and not one thing managed to make him lose his concentration. Apart from that, he also watched over the white cockatoo, but nothing it made ever gave any suspicious signs. And that frustrated Kurth because he knew that something about that bird was evil.

He did, however, see the cockatoo eye his memento on many occasions. It only made the owl even more uneasy, and on his guard. After all, Blu had explained to Kurth that his memento contained a star sapphire, a gem that was worth more than many, many things humans possessed. Maybe the cockatoo, Kurth thought, wanted to steal the gem and have it for itself. He would sooner die before giving away the memento entrusted to him by a dear friend that gave her life for him.

While he was still on his guard, Kurth was getting tired extremely quickly and opted for a quick rest so he could regain his awareness. His sleep, still dreamless, still troubled him because he knew that something clouded his mind; a truth so powerful that his own mind refused to accept. He wondered what his dreams would be like if he knew that truth.

His rest was soon disturbed by a muffled scream, one that would have been unheard, but Barn Owls were known for their keen hearing and that was exactly what woke Kurth up. Upon opening his eyes, Kurth turned his head to where he had heard the scream and he saw the cockatoo doing something to Sylvio.

What the cockatoo was doing, he did not exactly know. He only knew that it wasn't something good. Then, he spotted a bottle on the ground and according to what was written on said bottle, it contained alcohol. Following a logical way of thinking, Kurth concluded that if concentrated, alcohol could put humans and animals alike to sleep and from what he could see, that was what the cockatoo was hoping to accomplish.

"Ah! I knew from the moment I saw you that you couldn't be trusted, cockatoo!" Kurth barked after Sylvio had fallen unconscious.

"Oh, is the poor little owl going to cry now?" the cockatoo taunted.

"I will warn you but once, you do not want to have me as your enemy!"

"What are you going to do do? Attack me? I haven't even seen you fly, or maybe you can't," the cockatoo laughed.

If it hadn't been for Kurth's self-control, he would have surely tried to grab hold of the arrogant cockatoo and rip out his tiny heart from his breast. He clenched his hold on his sword and he boiled with rage inside. From what he had seen, that cocky cockatoo was highly unpredictable and that fact could easily turn against him if he ever attacked the bird unprepared. For the moment, he needed to step down and stay passive.

"By the way, that's a nice sapphire you have on your foot. Where did you find it?"

"I am under no obligation to answer your petty questions! Now leave me and do what you came to do," Kurth replied to the white bird.

As he uttered those words, the cockatoo took the keys that Sylvio transported and flew to one of the door of the aviary. Using the stolen keys, he unlocked the door and some human entered the building, a cage and some sacks in his hands. He put the cage on one of the many desks and then proceeded into entering Blu and Jewel's artificial cage.

Kurth's gizzard cringed as he realized what the human child came to do. The intention was to kidnap Blu and Jewel. As they were the last birds of their species, the certainly held a great valor in many humans' eyes. Having been able to fly, Kurth would have threatened the human, but since he lacked that ability, he just stood by and watched as Blu and Jewel were taken away.

The owl thought that the human would just take his leave after he had captured the two macaws, but after their gaze met, Kurth knew that he wouldn't be able to remain passive. Then, all of a sudden, the cockatoo appeared in his sight, right above him, and pinned the Barn Owl against the desk he was on. The impact his head suffered when it hit the desk managed to knock him unconscious. Everything after the cockatoo was nothing but darkness.

He just had the time to hear the tingling sound of his memento...

—

In the cage the three birds were contained, which meant Blu, Jewel and Kurth, Blu began to panic, one because he was anxious of what would happen to him. He only kept whining about how he wanted to be back home. The second reason was because the situation had become extremely dire. Everything was fine, well if fine can be designed as nearly getting a heart attack, until Blu noticed that Kurth's memento was gone from his left foot.

"He's going to kill us! He's going to kill us! This is really, _really_ bad!" Blu panicked.

"Would you calm down! This human won't kill us, he doesn't look like the type who would anyway," Jewel replied, tired of hearing the cerulean macaw whine about this and that.

"I'm not talking about this human! I'm talking about Kurth!" Blu rectified.

"What wrong with him? He's only a regular owl, like all the others."

"Oh, no! If anything, Kurth is not normal! But that's not the problem. The problem is that the memento he always holds on to is gone from his left foot."

"I still don't see the problem about the situation," said Jewel.

"He kept that memento, a star sapphire encased in a golden case, as if his life depended on it. When we first met, he clearly told me that if I ever even touched it, he would personally take care and I'm sure that it wasn't in good way. When he finds out that it's missing, he's gonna be so mad," Blu explained, almost hysterical.

"Oh … why didn't you say so then?"

"Because," Blu told Jewel, exasperatedly. "Owls like Kurth are known as Barn Owls and Barn Owls are know for their keen hearing. I wanted to avoid mentioning his memento because I was scared of..."

"What? What's wrong?" Blu queried Jewel after he was interrupted by her wide, trembling eyes. "Oh no! He's awake, isn't he?"

"Tell me, Blu, do you happen to know where Serenade's memento is?" Kurth asked in a menacing tone.

"Uh, no … not really!" Blu stuttered.

"Then explain to me why I don't have it on my left foot!"

"Maybe that human stole it from you," Jewel told Kurth, standing her ground.

"And what might you know about it, lass?" Kurth nearly screeched.

"I don't but I can tell you that you can't trust humans! They are not our allies!" exclaimed Jewel.

"But of course you can trust humans! Don't think that because some of them did something to you, all of humanity is like that. That's fallacy," Blu told Jewel.

Enough!" Kurth screeched, using his sword, which the human had omitted to remove, as a mean to bring upon the silence he desired. And to emphasize on that, he began unsheathing the sword slightly. "Now, all I want is that memento. Once I get it back, you're on your own, mates! And I have a special treatment reserved for that frinkin' cockatoo."

Completely ignoring Kurth, Jewel proceeded into tearing a small part of the cloth that covered the cage in order to see what was in front, or behind. Fortunately, she seemed to have chosen the right side as she told Blu and Kurth to play dead. Blu seemed reluctant at first, but he finally cooperated with the plan. Kurth did not do so, though, and instead remained still, almost as if he had killed the two macaws.

"What is this!" a man exclaimed, clearly the leader of the child who had captured the three birds. "I told you I needed those birds alive and you put an owl in that cage! Tell me Fernando, does this look alive to you?"

The man just made the biggest mistake of his life because when Jewel judged that it was her time to shine, she bit the man's finger and took off, fooling all the other humans present in the room. She tried to make a run for it through one of the vents just below the roof, but she was stopped by the same cockatoo that had attacked Kurth.

The cockatoo was about to make Jewel suffer a little bit, however, the man in charge, who obviously looked like the owner of the cockatoo, said that he needed Jewel alive. Then, the man noticed Serenade's memento in the child's hand. That child happened to be named Fernando but that was of no importance to Kurth. All that mattered to him was the recovery of his memento.

"Ah, very nice. You have the jewel too."

"But Boss, what's so special about that jewel," another man, quite obese, asked.

"It's thought to be the purest star sapphire in the entire world. Do you have any idea of its worth?"

"Not exactly, but I think it'll fetch us a pretty good price."

'_If I have to, I will follow you to the grave to get back what is mine!_' Kurth boiled up, tightening the hold on his sword even more.

"Now, go place those birds with all the others!" the man ordered.

The child, Fernando, complied to the man's order and took the cage and went in another room where all kinds of birds were held captive. There was even a bat in there. The child hung the cage on a chain and left the room. Blu, once again, began to complain and while Jewel did find it rather annoying, Kurth had learned to ignore the blue macaw's relentless complaints.

All hell broke loose after some time. Just enough time to allow the white cockatoo, whose name appeared to be Nigel, to mess with Blu and Jewel, and Kurth indirectly. The Barn Owl, however, held a grudge against the cockatoo and his primary desire after recovering his memento was to make mince meat out of the darned bird.

After his little song, which Kurth noted as horrible if he compared it to Madame Plonk or Blythe's singing, which left Jewel and Blu slightly traumatized, Jewel desired to escape from the cage and began to shove her shoulder against the cage. It made it swing around the room, but not without causing a lot of ruckus.

"If you had wanted to escape, you should have told me earlier, I know how to get around things," Kurth told Jewel, raising his sword a little above the base of the cage, as he took a stance.

"What are you gonna do? Dance around and hope it'll get us out of here! Thanks for the offer, but I want to get out, _now_!"

"Please do calm your temper, my young friend. Just watch and learn," Kurth harshly replied.

Jewel was about to continue arguing but she stopped when Kurth raised his starboard wing, the one that was still operational, and demanded complete silence. Although Jewel had a strong character, she knew better than to mess around with an owl such as Kurth. For some reason, something about him made her both admire and fear him.

Once he gained the silence he wanted, Kurth cleared his mind and grasped his sword's hilt firmly. Unlike what the macaws had thought, Kurth drew out his sword but instead of just breaking against the cage's bars, it cut through them with ease. The metal floor vanished from under their feet and at the same moment, Nigel stormed into the room, ready to give chase to the birds.

As they had been chained together after Jewel tried to escape, she took flight without knowing of Blu's condition. It only resulted in both of them falling down just after the got out of the building they were in. Kurth saw Nigel give chase to them, although only after he shoved the owl away from his path. Not only did Nigel hurt the Barn Owl's pride but he also earned himself a place on Kurth's list. The last one that had was placed there was Nyra and she was killed by Kurth himself.

It seemed as if the macaws were the human's only concern as they completely ignored Kurth, who had been knocked to the ground. He was on his back and completely defenseless. The humans only gave attention to Blu and Jewel's escape, giving Kurth the time to get back up and leave the building unnoticed. His next destination was as clouded as his situation was.

He was lost in a city he wasn't even accustomed to. He searched for a cockatoo and two Spix's Macaws. He had lost Serenade's memento, supposedly the purest star sapphires of the world. He didn't care about its trading value, it was something that he used to remember his past mistakes and it was worth more than the entire world to him.

All he knew was that if he were to track down the cockatoo, he would surely find what was his. A grim thought passed his mind but he let it go away, deeming it to dangerous and far too reckless. He was desperate, of that he was sure, but he wasn't desperate enough to have to resort to such a method, especially in the presence of humans.

He was fortunate, though, for he managed to find the remnant of a rope on the ground. Using his particular talents, he attached the rope to his sword and made it so it could fit his body. Using such a method would certainly facilitate his movements as his sword would be on his back rather than being in his talons.

Until he would know where to find the Glaux-forsaken cockatoo, he would dedicate the entirety of his time searching for Nigel and the humans that stole what was rightfully his. Until that would happen, nothing, and absolutely nothing, could slow him down. Nor would he allow himself to get killed during his search.

Having set his mind, Kurth began his quest and not even an army of hagsfiends could stop him. His gizzard was slowly, but surely, being consumed by anger and rage.

If he had to murder a thousand souls to recover his memento, he would not hesitate to do it...

—

**Well, this is all for chapter 6. I hope you've enjoyed the update and if you did, leave me your opinion. While flames may be tolerated in the reviews, please have some common sense and do it anonymously. And for all the others that enjoyed, constructive/positive reviews are encouraged.**

_**Sincerely,  
>The 'Visitor'<br>LordKurthnega46**_


	7. The Foreigner

**All right! I'm back, you guys! While you were all busy reading down other fanfics, I got some things running in the shadows and during that time, I got authorization to use a character from a user here on . Please welcome Dimitri, a rare black and red Spix's Macaw. I will introduce him later in the chapter, so for now, just sit back and enjoy the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rio nor the Guardians of Ga'Hoole; they belong to their respective owners. Dimitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw (applause please). I only own Kurth, Serenade and the plot. Everything else is NOT under my ownership! Sad, but true...**

**I do no own the song in this chapter.  
>The song, titled Untitled, belongs to its rightful owner:<br>Simple Plan **

—

**Chapter 7: The Foreigner**

Lost. Stranger. Sad. Enraged. Heartbroken … Kurth was all those things. The misfortune that befell on him made him lose his own self-confidence. He hadn't been able to protect his memento nor his pride. He began to think that maybe what Nyra had told him long ago was right after all. Maybe he was just a failure. Maybe he was spineless. His shame was immense and it pathetically drowned him in a sea of melancholy.

Despite his looks, he had never wanted to fight in the first place. His life was just filled with events that forced him to use violence. He had always preferred to stay away from everyone, to live a life of peace, but with the mother and surrounding he had, it was hardly an achievable goal. His meaning of life had all but left his mind and gizzard.

He wandered through Rio's streets for what seemed like an eternity and not once did he find a lead as to where Nigel or the humans that owned him could be. All he had been able to find was emptiness and the freezing touch of the rain that fell. It soaked his feathers and made him look like a fluff ball, but all of that didn't matter to him anymore. He was empty and most of all, torn from the inside.

Because of the rain, most of the humans had taken shelter in their homes or in any other place that offered some protection against, so Kurth was nearly left all alone in the street. As he was alone, he tried to find a meaning to his life. He had mostly lived his life to protect those he cared for, but he wondered if he had anything left to protect.

"Could it have been that I was wrong to come here?" Kurth spoke to himself. "That I should have listened to Nyra or that I should have stayed by Eglantine's side after she admitted loving me? There are so many things that I could have done differently!"

Then, all of a sudden, a melody filled his mind. He didn't know how it came to him, but he recognized its rhythm instantly. It was the same melody that tied his and Serenade's path together. Just like he had done then, he just let the song's melody overwhelm him and within seconds, he was softly humming. The lyrics soon followed the simple melody.

_I open my eyes  
>I try to see but I'm blinded by the white lights<br>I can't remember how  
>I can't remember why<br>I'm lyin' here tonight_

_And I can't stand the pain  
>And I can't make it go away<br>No, I can't stand the pain_

_How could this happen to me?  
>I've made my mistakes<br>Got nowhere to run  
>The night goes on<br>As I'm fading away  
>I'm sick of this life<br>I just wanna scream  
>How could this happen to me?<em>

_Everybody's screamin'  
>I try to make a sound<br>But no one hears me  
>I'm slippin' off the edge<br>I'm hangin' by a thread  
>I wanna start this over again<em>

_So I try to hold  
>Onto a time when<br>Nothing mattered  
>And I can't explain what happened<br>And I can't erase the things that I've done  
>No I can't<em>

_How could this happen to me?  
>I've made my mistakes<br>Got nowhere to run  
>The night goes on<br>As I'm fading away  
>I'm sick of this life<br>I just wanna scream  
>How could this happen to me?<em>

_I've made my mistakes  
>Got nowhere to run<br>The night goes on  
>As I'm fading away<br>I'm sick of this life  
>I just wanna scream<br>How could this happen to me?_

It felt somehow calming to repeat the same song as he once did so long ago. He had sung that song, one he learned was amongst the most revered by Michael, only once and it had been after he had first met Serenade. How could he ever forget the cheerful Great Gray Owl. She had taught him so many things and he never had the opportunity to repay the owl for her kindness.

However, his peace of mind was soon troubled by another presence. It wasn't one that he saw, but rather one that he heard. It came from behind him and for a moment, Kurth was sure that the darned cockatoo was back to taunt him even more. Not even thinking about it, his instincts kicked in and in a flash, he turned around and took a menacing stance.

What he saw, however, was not the bird he thought it would be. Instead, it was a macaw, but a very peculiar one. The macaw's resemblance to Blu was great but of it didn't have blue feathers like the Spix's Macaws. No, the macaw's feathers were black and red. A very special macaw according to Kurth. The Barn Owl still was on his guard, though.

"I mean you no harm, owl," the macaw said.

"Why should I trust you? You could very well be one of Nigel's goons sent to get rid of me!" Kurth scoffed.

"Nigel? Ah, you mean zat cockatoo? You don't have to vorry about that—I never liked zat bastard."

"What do you have to prove your words? The last thing I need is to get stabbed in the back. Plus, I don't trust you enough to let you near me yet."

"I can't really promise you anything, in fact I don't exactly remember most of my past before I was brought here by zose humans," said the macaw.

"I know what you must feel. I've been through something like that some years ago. But enough with that, I'd like to ask for your name, macaw, or at least if you remember what it was.

"And vho are you to ask for my name?" replied the macaw, daring his luck against Kurth.

"You stand before a hero of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Kurth is my name and as of recently, I've fallen quite deep from what I used to be. Now, tell me your name! I hate to be kept waiting," Kurth said, eliminating all emotions from his voice.

"My name is Dimitri, if I can remember right. Like I said before, I don't have recollection of my past and when I do, it is usually scrambled and incomprehensible."

"Hmmm, your accent is not from the States nor is it from Germany..." Kurth stated. "...could you be from Russia? I can see no other place where there are accents like yours."

"Zat, I do not know. All I know is zat I was brought here from a very cold place," Dimitri answered.

"There are quite a lot of cold places on Earth, but to figure out the one you came from would be far too long. In any event, what's your story? How'd you get here if you were back in that room? This reminds me, I never saw you in that room with all the other birds."

"I escaped some right after you made your exit. If you didn't see me, I guess it vas because my cage vas hidden by ze dark. I could see you, but you veren't able to see me. Vhen your cage knocked zat cockatoo, he vas sent straight against my cage, knocking it down to ze ground. Ze lock broke and after zat, I followed you. You seemed to know vhere you vere headed," explained Dimitri.

"Well, you were wrong!" Kurth let out. "I do not know where I am headed nor do I know anything about this frinkin' city. I'm both enraged and heartbroken. But I'm sure you couldn't understand what I'm going through!"

"Vhy couldn't I be able to understand vat you are feeling?" Dimitri queried.

"Because that frinkin' cockatoo crushed my pride, stole the thing I cherished most and now, I'm left with nothing to fight or live for!" Kurth burst into tears.

"Get yourself together, owl! You are still alive and zat's vat matters most! If you have ze will to keep moving, go on!"

"If I just had a simple glimpse of what I should be doing right now, do you honestly think I would be standing here right now?" Kurth threateningly queried Dimitri.

"I suppose not, but zere are some choices zat you must make for yourself when all seems lost," Dimitri replied.

That comment made Kurth think about the last words his father had told him when he was still just an owlet. He remembered that his father had told him that when all seemed lost, to think about one he truly loved or about his goal. Right now, he did not have anyone he loved as he was away from the two he had ever truly loved as mates. Well, Eglantine and he had never mated, but they were still considered by many as mates.

He did have a goal, though. It was a simple one and yet, it was extremely difficult to accomplish. He wanted to retrieve what he cherished most—in short, the star sapphire that Serenade had given him before she died—and bring upon the death of Nigel, the cockatoo he loathed, even if he had met him only a few hours before. Identifying them wasn't hard. Finding them was a totally different story.

With that in mind, he decided that he would donate most of his time searching the surroundings, including the rainforests, so he could have a chance of finding what he was looking for. And if the opportunity presented itself, he could maybe meet up with Blu and Jewel on his search.

"Thank you for the advice, lad. I'll be going now. If you want to accompany me, feel free to do so for I see no harm in that," Kurth said as he led the way.

"I like zose kind of birds," Dimitri muttered as low as possible so that Kurth would not hear him. "always so easy to manipulate!"

—

The rain had stopped and nearly all the lights from the city had been closed, except for those needed to help the vision of those in cars. As an owl, Kurth was mainly a nocturne bird so his vision was adapted for the darkness. For his part, Dimitri, who had decided to stick around, had some more trouble than Kurth as he was not used to the darkness as the owl was.

Many times did Dimitri complain and many times did Kurth ignore the macaw. The owl had no time to spare if he were to find his memento in time since he had heard the humans in that building with the cages say that they would ready the shipment scheduled around the same time where Kurth and Dimitri were exploring Rio.

Thanks to Dimitri, the Barn Owl had been able to forge himself a new will. He didn't want to fail when he felt more confident than ever. At least, if he found the star sapphire, he would be satisfied enough. Although Nigel's death could make a good stress relief. But he knew better than to let anger get the best of him. It had cost him Animae's life as well as his own once. Rushing blindly into danger was something he had thrown away a long time ago.

"Vould you mind slowing down? I cannot see zat vell in ze dark," Dimitri told Kurth.

"And risk losing my only chance to get Nigel back for what he stole and did to me? There's no way I'm stopping right now!" replied Kurth.

"You're an owl and I, a macaw. You can see in ze dark very vell compared to me."

"I'm nearly as white as the moon! Follow me by using the color of my feathers as guide," responded Kurth.

Normally, his feathers would have been sooty due to all the time he spent in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree's forge but the rain had made some of the soot come off, giving his feathers the color they originally were; pure white. And it was true that it was very dark as Kurth remarked that nearly all the lights, at the exception of those that served for the road.

However, even those lights gave way all of a sudden. Nor Kurth nor Dimitri could explain why that was so. The only thing the two, especially Kurth, had heard was something that resembled the sound of an impact. After that, the city was drowned into complete darkness. Something that would quite slow down Kurth as he would have to wait for Dimitri, who wasn't experienced in the darkness as Kurth was.

They decided to take a pause before continuing. A pause that lasted more than two hours as Dimitri fell asleep while they were resting. If Kurth had only listened to his gizzard, he would have left the macaw behind and continued on his way to find Nigel but that wasn't the case. He patiently waited for the macaw to wake up and once he did, the full moon had risen; giving some kind of light whatsoever that could help the macaw travel correctly through the dark.

Having found no success in searching for Nigel in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Kurth opted to go in the rainforests to continue his search. Inside the forest, tiredness began to take hold of both birds. While they knew that they couldn't stay on the ground as there were other predators searching for easy preys such as sleeping birds or other similar kind of preys, they still had to find a shelter or a place to stay for the night.

Kurth had been lucky for he had found a large tower-like foundation in the forest. It resembled a watch tower but he couldn't be sure it that was the case. Still, it seemed like a secure place to go if one desired to be safe from all the other predators that roamed the forest's ground. While Dimitri went for a far higher place than Kurth, the owl instead opted to stab his sword through the foundation's massive bamboo sticks that supported the tower.

Once he was comfortable, Kurth fell into a deep sleep. As for Dimitri, well, Kurth hadn't heard much of him before he fell asleep and therefore judged the black and red macaw to be already asleep. His sleep was unlike others, though. The reason was quite simple; it was because he had a dream. Well more like a fragment of a dream, but it was still a dream nonetheless. In that dream of his, Kurth heard a slow and sweet humming. One that he knew very well and at the same time, ignored.

—

"Kurth, is that you?" someone asked.

Who was speaking, Kurth was still unsure. He knew from the tone of the one that had addressed that he was acquainted to that person, or bird. He opened his eyes in a squint, due to the sun's bright light blinding him, and slowly started to search for the one that had called out his name. He was surprised to see Blu and Jewel standing on the ground, with Dimitri next to them.

"Blu? What are you doing here?" Kurth queried, still surprised to see the two blue macaws.

"We could be asking you the same question, owl," Jewel harshly replied.

"I see you're still as welcoming as ever, Jewel!" the owl sarcastically scowled at the azure bird. "But, from what I can see, you've already met with Dimitri. If you hadn't already noticed, he's a Spix's Macaw, just like you two lovebirds."

"Wait! What? He's a Spix's Macaw?" Blu inquired, under the shock of what he had been told. Up until now, he had always thought that Spix's Macaws were mainly blue, not black and red as Dimitri was.

"And what's that talk about us being lovebirds?" Jewel asked, venom coursing through her words.

"Well, you two seem _so happy_ together so I figured that calling you lovebirds would be quite … appropriate."

"Why, you!" Jewel let out. If it hadn't been for the chain that tied her to Blu, she would've pounded the owl, no matter his size.

"Now, now. Zere's no need for zis kind of violence, friends. Ve are, if I am correct, all here to survive. Correct?" Dimitri asked all the other birds.

"Exactly!" Blu exclaimed, quite embarrassed by the show Jewel and Kurth had made. "So, why don't we help each other out for now?"

"Consider me out of this little show," Kuth scoffed.

"But why?" Blu queried the owl.

"You know exactly why! And until I do find it, I may be more of a hassle and a threat to you," Kurth explained the macaw.

"Von't you reconsider it? After all, if ve are to survive, ve need to be a group," Dimitri told Kurth.

"A group, eh? Well, I ain't that fancy towards groups so like I said, count me out of this. I have bigger fish to fry!"

"Come on, Kurth. Apart from Jewel, we don't stand a fighting chance!" Blu said, trying to reason with Kurth. "But with your help, we could have more chances of defending ourselves against Nigel, if he ever comes around here."

"If anyone is to fight Nigel around here, it'd better be me and me alone. I have a score to settle with him and I am prepared to use whatever method, if the time comes that I am in need to those methods. Yes Blu, even those I talked to you about on the plane," Kurth told Blu, a hint of distorted pleasure in his voice.

"You would go that far just for a … regular pendant?" Jewel asked, facing Kurth without fear.

"Jewel! Please take back your words…" Blu pleaded.

"I shall not take them back and I will stand my ground! He's just an old owl that still thinks he's on a heroic quest. What is there to fear from such a…" Jewel began before all her words disappeared from her mouth as Kurth crushed her throat with his right talon.

"You would have been wise to listen to him, Jewel! Serenade's memento isn't an ordinary pendant like you claim it to be! Nor am I an old owl that still thinks he is on a heroic quest! You know nothing of me so I would suggest you keep your words to yourself when judging me!" Kurth burst, rage slowly starting to take over his judgment.

"Kurth, let her go! I'm sure she didn't mean to say what she said," Blu nervously told Kurth, afraid of the owl's reaction to his comment.

"Let her go? And why should I do that? She clearly stood her ground against me! Desecrating my memento is the same as insulting Serenade or I and never will I let such a thing go unpunished!"

Blu noticed that some of Kurth's normally white feathers were starting to become completely black. They also began to lengthen a bit more than their original length. But that wasn't what set panic inside Blu's mind. What did what that Kurth's gaze started to have a hint of yellow in them. It resembled the description of the hagsfiends Kurth had told Blu when they were in the plane the day before.

Before Kurth could continue to strangle Jewel, Dimitri intervened and grabbed the leg that the Barn Owl used to hold Jewel. He began to pull it away although the owl applied so much strength that the task Dimitri was undertaking was very arduous. Eventually, he succeeded in making Kurth release his hold on Jewel's neck. Dimitri only had time to take height and evaded by a few inches the cold steel of Kurth's sword.

"Whoa! Calm down, Kurth! You're starting to become like _them_!" Blu shouted at Kurth in hopes that his words would reach the Barn Owl.

And they did! At first, he seemed unaffected by the blue macaw's words but after a few dozens of seconds, he began to shiver. Soon, the shivers would transform into trembles. The blade of his sword hit the ground as his trembling foot dropped it. When he turned around to gaze at the three birds, they could all see the despair in his eyes. The yellow light that was in them earlier had disappeared and his eyes were once again completely black. He took back his sword and sheathed quickly,

Ashamed of what he had done, he only said, "I'm sorry…"

"Kurth! Where are you going like that?" Blu inquired.

But no response came, all he saw was an owl fleeing from the scene. Even if the cerulean bird was concerned about the Barn Owl, he was also extremely worried about Jewel's state. She wasn't in an eminent danger, but she was still knocked unconscious due to the lack of air when Kurth tried to strangle her. Having no choice but to remain by her side because of the chain that tied them close to each other, he remained next to her and only hoped that she wouldn't have any other kind of wounds.

"Let him go, Blu," Dimitri spoke. "If he had intended on staying, he vould have done so. He fled and has to bear vith his conscience after doing vhat he did."

"But…"

"He broke your trust, Blu. He even tried to kill Jevel. You still vant to forgive him after zat?"

"I've been with him for five years now and never before has he shown such a behavior"— Blu stated— "but maybe the stress from losing his memento made him become like that. Either way, he wasn't himself when he attacked Jewel. Something changed him, something of someone with dark intention."

Unbeknownst to Dimitri, Blu was being suspicious of the innocence the weird macaw claimed to have. Before meeting him, Kurth was still very much in control of his behavior. It wasn't until he had met together with him a few hours ago that he noticed that the Barn Owl had drastically changed. He didn't know if the black and red macaw could be of trust. His heart told him that he could be searching repentance for something he might have done while his mind was telling him that there was something out of the ordinary about that macaw.

—

Kurth had left immediately after he heard Blu tell him that he was starting to resemble _them_. The Barn Owl understood the reasons his friend had to keep the name of the hagsfiends hidden. It was a rather wise choice as hagsfiends were not birds to be talked lightly off. When he looked at some of his own feathers, he noticed that some of them had started to lengthen. Some others had turned as black as the night. Of course, those were only a minority of feathers.

However, the thought still frightened Kurth. To think that he was harboring so much anger, so much rage that he was slowly turning into a hagsfiend was not a very pleasant thought. If he still carried the presence inside his being, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he could become a hagsfiend without the need of nacthmagen. He had learned nacthmagen from both Lutta and Kreeth but he never truly had the opportunity to use it.

But that behavior, he thought, wasn't like his usual behavior. He was easily annoyed and angered, but to go as far as to say he would try to kill an innocent bird just for his petty sake of revenge and hate was beyond his what he normally did. He even tried to cut down Dimitri. In cold blood! He never felt an ounce of regret when his attack missed the black and red macaw by a few inches.

His introspection still led him to nothing as he couldn't find out what had caused his loss of temper and transformation. All he could think about was his shame and regrets. He deeply regretted his actions and he would pay dearly to get a second chance. The thought that Dimitri could have influenced him somehow was absent from his mind. He had not yet thought of such a possibility for he had somehow come to trust the black and red macaw.

The only possible thing he thought he could do was to dwell upon his actions and somehow try to repent to Blu and Jewel for what he had done against them, especially Jewel. He was uncertain if the azure feathered macaw would forgive him for his actions one day. All he could possibly do was ponder on what he had done and think about what he should do next. He would still continue searching for Nigel but he would be careful of his behavior in the future.

He didn't want to hurt anybody anymore. After he had killed Nyra, he vowed to himself that he would not hurt anybody else, even under the influence rage and anger could have on him. He didn't want to be involved in any war or battle anymore. All he desired was a peaceful life but would he have been able to obtain such a life at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree? He guessed not and that saddened him because not only was he alone once more, there was no one he truly trusted to whom he could talk to in his darkest hour.

Just like when he had escaped from the smugglers' residence, the Barn Owl wandered through the rainforest, devoid of any kind of feelings whatsoever. He was lost in his own mind, so deep that not even reality could bring him back. He had begun to wonder about another matter: the sweet humming he had heard in his dream. It had been the first dream he had in ages and for a certain reason, there was something he recognized in that humming; something extremely familiar and yet, very distant.

All he could do was to wander and grief. All he wanted was to be forgiven but he felt as if Jewel would hold a serious grudge against him. All he could do was to hope everything would turn out fine and that he would soon earn his forgiveness…

—

**So, what'd you guys think about this chapter? Pretty … dark, eh? Well, there a lot more where this came from and they will all make their appearances soon enough. For now, just bear with the wait and I'll try to work things out on my end. And please guys, review. I can't tell if you like or not so depending on how you liked my story, leave your creative/constructive/positive reviews in the space reserved for that. As for the flames and negative comments, have some common sense and do it anonymously. This was all for this chapter, folks. May we meet again soon in another chapter.**

The 'Other' Guardian  
>LordKurthnega46<p> 


	8. Misguided Path

**Here I am again, folks! LordKurthnega46 is back with a new plot twist. Last chapter, Kurth nearly killed Jewel and now, he questions his motives and ideology. Blu suspects Dimitri of not being what he claims to be. Kurth is starting to resemble a hagsfiend and he is lost with his own sense of justice and truth. For now, just simply sit back and enjoy the show.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Blu, Jewel, Linda, Tulio and all the other characters included in Rio.**

**Nor do I own any of the elements from the Guardians of Ga'Hoole such as glaumora, hagsfiends or characters originating from the original book. Also, while Lutta originally belongs to Kathryn Lasky, the personality she possesses belongs to me. **

**Dimitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**Kurth, Serenade, Lucy, Henry, Michael and the plot are the only things I own.**

—

**Chapter 8: Misguided Path**

Kurth had been wandering for what seemed like an eternity. He was so lost in regret, remorse and sadness that he had completely lost his sense of time. He just wasn't sure if what he was doing was right or wrong. He had tried to kill Jewel and before Dimitri stopped him, he would've done so without as much as a second thought. As he thought about it, he kept asking himself how he could have done such a thing to begin with.

Another that deeply took a lot of his time was his last dream. He still tried to figure out who the humming belonged to. He felt as if he had heard it somewhere before, but he just couldn't remember where or when. He vaguely recognized the melody, but the one who sung it had a voice that could make glaumora weep.

It tortured Kurth deeply, not being able to recognise the voice that had haunted his dream. He would gladly give anything to find out whose voice it was. But no matter how hard he looked in his memories, he was unable to remember the bearer of such a sweet voice. He tried even harder, going through memories he had tried to suppress—nay, forget—and it still gave him no good results.

He had thought about Animae but her voice had always been a little deeper than that. Serenade was no good either because her voice was indeed sweet, but it had never reached those notes.

That only left him with limited choices. Hortense was not one of those choices as her voice was somewhat darker. Kurth didn't dare think about his twisted mother. While it was true that when she sang, she made use of a voice he never believed she could possess. Finally, the Barn Owl was faced with two last choices.

He had been extremely close to each of those owls, well one of them was an owl while the other was a creature that was both owl and crow. Eglantine had a very sweet voice and it was true that it had reached that sound in some situation. However, she could only achieve such a voice if she forced her voice to that point.

Kurth's last choice was one he had tried to forgetting about because parting with her had left him heartbroken. She lived in a different time, a thousand years in the past before Kurth had hatched. She suffered a grim fate historically, one that Kurth claimed to be extremely unfair. She truly had a voice that was charming. Out of all the time he had heard her sing, it had always made him weep.

He even wondered if her sweet, delicate voice could have indeed made glaumora weep. He still remembered her name for it had been forever locked in his heart, gizzard and mind. Her name was Lutta. She lived a thousand years in the past and Kurth had the wonderful chance of meeting her when he was sent into Michael's memories of the past.

She was a hagfiend, one that the arch hagsfiend Kreeth qualified as a changeling. She was able to assume the form of any kind of owl at will. She had been originally sent to kill King Hoole but the more she stayed at his side, the more she fell in love with the Spotted Owl.

Originally, hagsfiends were believed to have no gizzards at all. Lutta, for some strange reasons, developed one out of her free will. Kreeth had claimed that gizzard a phantom gizzard, nothing more than an illusion that Lutta had invented in her mind. Eventually, she was forced by Kreeth, who used a powerful fyngrot to control the changeling, into doing what she desired most: obtain the Ember of Hoole. Lutta had managed to break free of the hagsfiend's fyngrot, but she was slain by Strix Strumajen before she could possibly explain herself to Hoole.

In Michael's memories, Kurth had been left with a deep, philosophical remark; one that changed his life. It was Michael who had told him the remark and he could still remember the human telling it to him: is something depicted as evil truly evil or is it our fear of the unknown that creates that perception of evil? That had been the human's last words before he sent the Barn Owl in the past.

It was that remark that made him rethink of his definition of evil. It made him see what being a hagsfiend felt like. But more importantly, it was that simple remark that had saved Lutta's life in the Ice Palace. In fact, had he not followed the changeling, she would have found death. Instead, Strix Strumajen was the one that lost her life when Kurth beheaded the Spotted Owl.

Now, Kurth wondered what he would do next, where he would go and how he would do it. His determination was what kept him alive and if he were to lose it in any way, he was unsure if he would be able to continue on living. Then, he guessed that only time could answer his wonders.

—

Meanwhile, an owl, more precisely a Barn Owl, flew above what seemed to be a sea. Which one it was, the owl could not guess but there was one thing she was aware of, and that was obtaining an audience with the king of the Great Tree. Who it was, she ignored it, but she needed information from someone who last saw _him_.

Just until recently, the owl felt as if she was dead. A few nights before she set for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a strange creature had come to her and she began feeling weird. As if she was recovering part of her memories she had lost long ago. She saw the creature and when she did, she noticed that it resembled a creature she had seen in her adoptive mother's books.

She clearly remembered the name given to these creatures: the Others. At first, she remembered nothing but as she talked with the unknown creature, parts of her memories came back to her. She remembered what had befallen on her and she remembered how her mate had saved her life from a Spotted Owl hell-bent on killing her. After she regained all of her memories, the Other told her that she should head to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree if she wanted to seek out her mate.

She had been reluctant to go at first, mostly because she remembered the hate the ruler of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree had for her. She was afraid of his reaction if she dared go to the tree. The Other told her that it would be alright. In fact, it told her that over a thousand years had passed since she fell into her long slumber and since then, the kings and queens succeeded one after each other.

It also assured her that the current king was a wise one. Slightly reassured, she made up her mind and decided to go to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree so she could meet the king and ask about her mate's whereabouts.

After the nostalgia of the events left her, she gave her full attention to the skies in front of her and on the distance. A few hours after she had done so, she made out the form of an extremely large tree. Proud of all the progress she had made to get the Great Tree, she let out a sigh of relief and thanked Glaux for looking after her. She had travelled from the Northern Kingdoms so she could meet up with a king she had never met or heard of before.

Even if her composure seemed frail, the Barn Owl still managed to hold her own against the katabats, the violent winds that raged in the Northern Kingdoms. As a Barn Owl though, she could hardly be called a normal tyto alba. Even if her feathers were mainly white, the rest of her feathers had a dark red color, including the feathers that outlined her facial disk. Those colors had cast fear in those she met up until this point, and that caused them to judge her without knowing how she truly behaved.

To have reached the Great Ga'Hoole Tree installed some pride in her gizzard as she thought her newly achieved accomplishment would manage to shut the beak of many who unjustly judged as being an anomaly.

However, her victory was only short lived as an owl asked her to stop. That unknown owl was then joined by a Barn Owl and she could see in his eyes that he was just and wise. In her mind, she already knew who the Barn Owl was; the king of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, she complied with their demands and followed them.

"You must be new here," commented the first owl, who was a Spotted Owl.

"Yes, I am. I have come from the Northern Kingdoms to inquire from your king. My mate has come here some time ago and he never returned, so I began to worry about his well-being as well as his whereabouts."

"I've almost forgotten!" the Spotted Owl sighed, almost as if she were exasperated by something. "My name is Otulissa, what about you?"

"Ah, yes. Introductions do come first. I am honored to meet you, Otulissa. I am known as Lutta," the Barn Owl told Otulissa.

The Spotted Owl was shocked to hear such a thing and looked somehow dumbstruck, then said, "That set aside, could I ask you of who your mate is? Maybe I know of him."

"His name was Kurth. He left the Northern Kingdoms some years ago and he never returned," Lutta explained.

Now extremely confused, Otulissa tried to find her words and while doing so, she tried to pick the best ones she could. Nervous, she said, "Please follow me, Lutta. I think King Soren has some time to meet with you, _now_!"

"Really? How wonderful! I had expected to wait a lot more before he could see me in an audience," Lutta spoke, relieved.

The Barn Owl followed Otulissa through the Great Tree and she was surprised by how it had grown since the last time she had seen it. There was no doubt about it; she missed a lot of things while she was in her slumber. Eventually, Otulissa would stop and Lutta clearly overheard the Spotted Owl saying that she had an urgent need to meet with the king. The owl in front of the Parliament's doors was at first reluctant, but soon bowed his head and complied with Otulissa's demands.

"Soren! She knows about _him_!" Otulissa exclaimed as she stormed inside the Parliament.

"Who knows about whom? And would you care to explain to me the whole situation?" Soren asked, somewhat bewildered. He was the same Barn Owl that Lutta had seen with Otulissa when she was greeted by the two.

"She's the Barn Owl we greeted earlier and she claims that _Kurth_ was or is her mate," Otulissa explained, having regained her composure and calm.

"Is that true, lass?" Soren asked Lutta.

"Yes. His name was Kurth and the last time I saw him, he told me that he was going to fight for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, but alas he never returned."

"In any case, what is your name, lass?" The king queried the Barn Owl.

"Lutta, Your Majesty."

For a second, Lutta thought all the owls in the Parliament had all stopped breathing at the same time. Silence reigned over the owls and none of them dared to speak. They just stared as Lutta with wide open eyes. Lutta was at some loss, but at some point, she understood what was going on.

"Who gave you your name, lass?" Another owl asked, this time a Great Grey Owl.

"My mother did, sir. She said that she once owned a book of the Legends of Ga'Hoole before the Striga ordered the burning of the books. She only remembered one name and she told me it was the name of a kind creature that never deserved her death," Lutta explained.

"You lie," Otulissa claimed, behind Lutta.

"Excuse me?" Lutta asked, outraged by the Spotted Owl's claim.

"You lie just like you breathe. Just look at your feathers; those aren't the colors of a Barn Owl! What are you?"

Seeing that Lutta kept her beak shut, Soren flew down from his perch to the ground and approached her before he kindly said, "We want to be sure your claim is true, lass. I'll ask you once and once only: who are you?"

"Even if I were to tell you, you wouldn't believe me," Lutta spoke.

"Try me, I promise I won't do you any harm and neither will any of the owls of the Parliament. Will you do it for me, and for Kurth."

Feeling somehow defeated, Lutta lowered her head in acknowledgement and from there, all eyes were once again wide open on her. Her once beautiful white feather were now lengthening as well as taking a deep shade of black. Her size nearly doubled from her size as a Barn Owl. Her talons became larger and sharper, and the sight of them was nearly able to inflict a cut. Her beak became sharper and longer while her deep black eyes were replaced by glowing yellow eyes. Before all, Lutta stood in her real form; that of a hagsfiend.

"But … that's impossible!" Otulissa burst into shock. "You are supposed to be dead!"

"Dead? I was just told that I had entered a deep slumber a thousand years ago. All I seem to remember is that Kurth was my mate and that he saved my life before."

"Otulissa does bring an interesting point but like I promised, none of us will harm you as long as you remain peaceful. Now, are you truly the real Lutta, the changeling?" Soren inquired.

"Yes, I am," Lutta said, assuming her Barn Owl form once more, surprising the owls of the Parliament for a third time. "but I would like to know where is Kurth now, if it is not too much to ask?"

"Actually, none of us really know where Kurth is now. All we know is that one night, he was simply gone, far from the Great Tree," spoke another Barn Owl, one that greatly resembled Soren.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, unfortunately. He was very brave and determined to protect those he cared for. It will be difficult to bear with his absence as a blacksmith, cook and counsellor," Soren said.

"And you have no clue about where he could have gone to?" Lutta insisted.

"Well, before he left, he was bragging about how he was going to go beyond the Beyond the Beyond, where no owls had ever flew before," Otulissa admitted.

"Really, so I might have a chance to find him then?"

"We can't be sure, but it finding him is you wish, then we shall not hold you back," Soren said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lutta let out, bowing her head.

"Please, Soren will do just fine," Soren told Lutta, as if he was annoyed of being addressed as '_Your Majesty_' and all those other titles that came with royalty. "and Lutta."

"Yes … Soren?"

"Consider this our little secret."

While looking into the monarch's eyes, Lutta saw a flickering a kindness, something she had not seen since Kurth. It felt good, but what felt even better was the trust Soren had in her. He could have easily killed her with all those owls in the Parliament and yet, he didn't. She bowed her head once more and hastily left the Parliament and was later seen taking off, in the direction of the Beyond the Beyond.

"Soren! Why'd you let her get away? She's a hagsfiend for Glaux's sake!" the large Great Grey exclaimed.

"Peace, Twilight!" Soren calmly let out. "She could have cast a fyngrot on us and yet, she didn't. What if Lutta had just been misunderstood in the times of Legends. After all, she did say that it never was the Ember of Hoole she wanted."

"And what's that all about Kurth? Could he be like her? A hagsfiend in disguise, old of a thousand years? Otulissa asked, alarmed at the possible discovery.

"That could be a possibility, but we shouldn't bother ourselves with such a thing. They are both away from the tree and besides, we already have enough work as it is," Soren said, slightly churring.

"That is very true, my love," another Barn Owl that was by Soren's side said, churring as well.

—

Kurth looked at his few black feathers amongst his entire coat of pure white feathers. It scared him greatly to even touch the thought of becoming a hagsfiend for no apparent reason. Nyra was dead and Lutta lived in a different era and time. There was nothing that threatened him to the point of becoming a hagsfiend.

Still, he felt greatly ashamed. One because he had broken the oath he had sworn to himself and two, he had tried to change into a hagsfiend before he could be reunited with Lutta. Only then would he allow himself to become a full-fledged hagsfiend. As for his oath, he had sworn never to hurt another innocent soul because his anger took over his judgment.

While he was thinking about his actions, he was attacked by several wild animals, including a snake and another ground predator he did not recognize. He didn't know what it had been. All he knew was that he had killed it just like he did the snake. On another completely different case, he killed an opossum, not because he felt like it but because he was hungry.

He had to admit, to be able to taste fresh meat once more was like completing his First Meat ceremony over again. In the last five years, he did have meat but it never included bones or anything like that. He mostly ate fresh fruits instead. Finally, after some hours of meditation, Kurth arrived on a beach.

He mostly ignored the water and sand and instead continued to walk on the patches of hard soil. He had never walked in the sand before, but he was sure that the feeling wasn't exactly pleasant for an owl. The Barn Owl then heard strange noises and eventually heard some voices with his keen hearing. He followed the sound and it led him to a clearing.

At first, he thought it was a clearing just like any other but he was proved wrong when he heard the strange noises again. Then, several chicks walked out of some bushes. They seemed like toucans, if Kurth remembered the species right. He lowered his guard after seeing this. They seemed so adorable from the outside. However, Kurth was still not sure if they could be trusted so he still kept his guard in case something went wrong.

"Attack!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed.

That was Kurth's cue and he instantly drew out his blade in a menacing pose. He intended to give off a threat display so the chicks would leave him alone and it did. Once he saw that the chicks were far enough for his tastes, he sheathed his sword and continued on his way. He would have gone far away if it hadn't been for the unknown presence he felt and heard.

"What's going on around here!" The female toucan exclaimed, trying to find a culprit among all the chicks that were assembled around her. "And you! Who are you?"

"I'm just an owl passing by," Kurth answered, trying to stay as enigmatic as he could. "so you don't have to bother yourself with me, ma'am."

"Are you sure? Because they are saying that you threatened them with that strange thing you have on your back."

"Please, this is just a misunderstanding. I thought they tried to threaten me so I replied with own threat display. Had I known that they didn't have any bad intentions, I would have never done such an act," Kurth explained, turning around to face the toucan that talked to him.

"You!"

"Yes, what is it? Do we know each other in a way that I completely ignore?" Kurth demanded.

"No, but a blue macaw asked me and my mate if we had seen an owl with scars on his face and breast and black feathers amongst a coat of white feathers with something called a '_sword_' on his back," the toucan responded.

"Is that so? Was this macaw chained to another macaw and travelling with a black and red macaw?"

"Yes, he did! But wait, how did you know?"

"I met him during my travels recently. He's a nice bird. I just don't like groups that much so I preferred to stay out of their little formation. Still, do you know where he's headed now?" Kurth queried.

"They went with my mate to see Luiz. He said that it was to remove the chain that tied them together," the toucan replied.

"And that would happen to be…?" Kurth inquired.

"Just go through there," the toucan gestured a small path through the trees. "and then follow the path until it leads you to town. There, just ask your way to Luiz's and you should get simple directions."

His questions answered, Kurth slightly bowed his head, thanking the toucan for answering his question, and said, "Thank you for the information, ma'am."

He quickly proceeded into leaving the clearing and went directly for the path the toucan had told him about. Before he could enter it, he heard the toucan behind him, "By the way, I'm Eva. What's your name?"

"Kurth's the name … Eva."

"Well, good luck on your travels, Kurth," Eva told him.

"Why, thank you! I wish you good luck on raising those chicks of yours."

"You don't need to come back either, owl!" Eva muttered under her breath.

Kurth continued his way through the narrow path that Eva had shown him. Although it was a little bit larger than he was with his wings closed, he still felt somehow trapped in that passage. He felt like it smothered him and he couldn't shake that feeling off. Still, he kept going and, at a certain point, noticed that the sun was shining bright through an opening.

He had first seen Rio as a big city, but he would have never guessed it was _that_ big. In front of him stood countless buildings, streets, alleys and cars along with the humans. He just hoped they would keep their hands off him. If there was anything he hated, it was to receive pity from another. He just hated the feeling it brought him.

Other than that, he was still greatly amazed by the environment around him. He hadn't seen such a thing in all of his life. Even the Great Ga'Hoole Tree wasn't as large as Rio was. He wondered how he would find this Luiz in such a large city. Eva had told him to ask some other birds for information about where Luiz resided, but he still wondered where he would find those birds in the first place.

Finally, he told himself that he would begin by trying to find his way around, and then he would search for some birds who knew something about that Luiz Eva had told him about. He didn't know if he could be trusted but if Blu was ready to meet with a complete stranger, the Barn Owl figured that if the macaw that was nearly scared of everything trusted a stranger, he could very well do the same thing.

He soon set out to find birds that could help him to find out about Luiz's whereabouts. However, he ignored that while he was doing that, a white and red Barn Owl looked for him. Their goals were alike, but their means were complete opposites. He used violence to get what he needed while she used speech and persuasion in order to get to the bottom of things.

Little did they know that their fates would once again be intertwined…

—

**Alrighty! This was chapter 8. I hope you really did enjoy the treat as I am doing everything I can to give you those chapters as quickly as I can. However, do understand that I am no machine and that it might happen that I will have to pause someday to concentrate on something more important than FF. For now, I'll just keep feeding you readers with these sweets. And please, a review would be appreciated if you enjoyed or liked the story up until now.**


	9. Party Gone Wrong

**Welcome back, everyone. Last chapter, we saw that the POV will be divided into two different parts. One is Kurth, and the other is Lutta. She is on a quest to find him and he is on a quest to search himself and get back what he cherishes. None of them knows that their paths are going to be intertwined once more sooner than they could have thought. This chapter will be a little more explicative, although it will contain a little bit more of dialogues just like chapter 5. Be prepared, though, because what will be revealed through this chapter will be quite shocking.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Rio, Blue Sky Studios and Carlos Saldanha do. As for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kathryn Lasky owns the series, not me.**

**Dimitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**However, I ****do ****own ****Kurth, Serenade, Michael, Lucy and Henry as well as the personality Lutta has. The character belongs to Kathryn Lasky, though. **

**The song Hot Wings is not under my ownership.  
>It belongs to Jamie Foxx, Will I Am, Anne Hathaway as well as the owners of Rio.<strong>

**Chapter 9****: Party Gone Wrong**

"Do you know where he is right now?" Lutta asked a hooded figure.

"Unfortunately, that much escapes my knowledge. Normally, I would be able to sense his presence since I last saw him, but now, he mysteriously vanished," stated the hooded figure.

"Do you think something grave could have happened to him?" Lutta let out, alarmed.

"I can't be sure. I think that I may have rubbed off a little bit on him. Before, he never was so enigmatic."

"How so? Lutta queried, not remembering her mate as being enigmatic.

"He trusts no one and he even discourages those that want to crack his shell from doing so. He never behaved like that five years ago. I wonder if it's not because of his origins. Nobody ever told him the truth after all."

"Excuse me, but is it normal if I have no clue as to what you are talking about?" Lutta inquired, not sure what the hooded figure was implying.

"And I guess that Kreeth never cared to tell you some more details about your creation," spoke the figure.

"About ... my creation? But I thought that Kreeth had created me by casting a fyngrot on my egg," Lutta protested the figure's claim.

"Well, yes. Essentially, that was the result. But something else happened when she cast her fyngrot. Something she did not, and could, not accept."

"What was it?" The hagsfiend queried, beginning to become more and more interested in the figure's story.

"A second life. Alongside you, there was a chick but it was no owlet, it was another hagsfiend. However, he looked weak so Kreeth got rid of him, or so she thought. The hatchling learned to survive on his own, without the slight amount of love around him."

"Are you saying that he could be that hagsfiend? But then, that means we are siblings born in the same egg!"

"No! Not entirely. Although you were both born from the same egg, he is not your brother."

"How can that be? I have never heard of two chicks coming from the same egg and even if that were to happen, I thought they would be siblings. How can that be false for us?"

"It's quite hard to explain. When I wandered through his mind, I was blocked by some sort of barrier that stopped me from delving deeper into the depths of his mind. It wasn't until he was sent in the past that I gained knowledge of his own past. He was that hagsfiend that hatched with you. He is a thousand years old and he knows only hate and vengeance!" let out the figure.

"As I mentioned before, how does that concern he and I? What is so special about him that you would hide from me?" Lutta queried.

"He isn't your brother, of that you can be sure. Instead, he's a lot more than that..."

"Would you stop with all your riddles and just answer my question already?" Lutta burst in anger.

"You should not let haste cloud your judgment, dear Lutta, for it will someday lead to your demise if you do not learn to control it. I will give you answers in time but until then, you will have to be patient."

"Fine, whatever! But hurry up, I don't have all night!"

"Right!" the figure acknowledged. "As I was saying before you interrupted me, he is not your brother but he is far more than that! He's your other half."

"What exactly do you mean?" Lutta enquired.

"Exactly what I said. He is your other half. While he is not your brother or anything like that, he has more importance to you than a sibling. Tell me, dear Lutta, have you felt somehow empty lately?" asked the figure, responding to Lutta's enquiry.

"How did you-" stuttered Lutta, who was at a loss of words.

"Know? I told you, dear Lutta. I discovered grim secrets about him that even he ignores! The darkest is that he is your half. You two belong with each other. You complete the other and when together, you are a whole. Two entities that create a force that should be reckoned with," explained the figure.

"But how can that be and why did Kreeth hide it from me?" Lutta protested against what the figure had told her.

"Because she thought she had killed him when she got him out of her lair. She would have never thought that he would survive out there. However, he did the unthinkable: he survived. And with every day that passed, his emptiness led him to breed even more hate into his being. There's also one more thing he shares with you; something that your parents left you for."

Realising what the figure was implying, Lutta nearly went yeep. Unable to utter a simple sound, she finally cleared her throat before she slowly uttered, "He's a ... changeling?"

"Yes, precisely! The main reason he is still alive to this day is because of his unique powers as a changeling and as a hagsfiend. When Strumajen killed you, he felt it in his gizzard."

"Gizzard? I thought that hagsfiend had no gizzards at all," Lutta stated.

"Most would think so too, but he had one because he was your other half. That made him into a creature not exactly common; a hagsfiend with a gizzard. To this point, you and him are the only ones that I have found," the figure said.

"Are you sure of your claims? They hardly seem founded," Lutta told the figure.

"Honestly, my dear. Have I ever lied to you ever since we've known each other?"

"I guess not, but that still makes your claims hard to believe."

"There you go! Now, before we part for the moment, I would like to give you an advice," spoke the figure.

"Please continue," Lutta told the figure, trying to hold all of her questions.

"When you find him, you should be prepared to kill him. If he loses control before you find him, I fear that not even you could stop his rampage if that were to happen."

"Kill ... him...! But why?" Lutta protested.

"Like I said, if he were to lose control of all his anger and hatred, he would be so submerged by all of those emotions that not even his other half could calm down. That is why you must be prepared kill him. If you don't, you may end up getting killed a second time and I might not be able to do anything for you if such was the case," the figure calmly explained.

"What if I don't have the will needed to do it? What if I am unable to slay him? I understand you plea but I can only do the unthinkable, not the impossible," Lutta replied.

"In due times, I know you will find the strength to do it. Do you know why?"

"Why?" repeated Lutta.

"Because I believe in you. When the time comes and that you've lost all hope, speak these words: when darkness falls, light burns its bane. Only then will I intervene," the figure said.

"Very well, I will trust your words. All I ask in return is that you guide me to beyond the Beyond the Beyond. I will follow him!" Lutta spoke, now extremely determined.

"You have my word, my dear."

"Oh, and one last thing!" Lutta called out to the figure.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Thank you ... Michael."

"Please, the pleasure is all mine, Lutta!" Michael said, showing a wide smile after he had removed his hood.

"I guess I'll see you another time, then," Lutta spoke, looking extremely proud and happy.

"Yeah, until next time!"

—

Lutta opened her eyes. She had talked with the hooded figure for what seemed like hours but in reality, only a few minutes had passed since she began meditating. It always was like that when she meditated; she would retreat into her mind so she could engage in a conversation with the being that guided her.

He had been there since she 'woke up' from her deep slumber. That was what he first told her and after trust was established between the two, the figure introduced itself in details and revealed to the hagsfiend that he had brought her back to death by bargaining a deal with Glaux.

The deal was simple; Lutta would be brought back to life but in exchange, Michael, the figure that had aided both Kurth and Lutta, would have to pledge his loyalty to Glaux and assure that the threat of the hagsfiend would be eliminated once and for all. Of course, that meant that Kurth would have to be taken care of, by death or by submission.

If Kurth refused to cooperate, they would have no other choice than to strike him down. Since the Barn Owl that they had known for so long was a friend to both creatures, they would do their best in order to save him from himself. As Lutta kept thinking about everything that had happened to her in the last few days, she prepared herself to take flight but stopped herself, when a realisation struck her mind.

"The sun is up; crows are sure to be roaming the sky. I better blend in if I don't want to attract unwanted attention," Lutta told herself.

As she said that, her white and red feathers started losing their bright color and instead began to become black. Her beak started to lengthen while her head became smaller. Her body shrank a little bit, taking the shape crows commonly had.

Her legs also became slightly thinner and her talons lost in length to fit the rest of her body. Finally, her big, round black eyes were replaced by small beady eyes, the same crows had. Once she was content of her transformation, Lutta took off and headed in the direction of the Beyond the Beyond.

While she did not like assuming the form of a crow, she came to like the advantages it offered such as avoiding being mobbed by other crows. She could have assumed her true form but when she thought about it, she realised that it would attract more trouble.

Hireclaws or other armed owls would surely be surprised to see a hagsfiend roam the land free and their first action would surely be to attack her. Violence had never been her thing and even if Kurth taught her the basics and the use of an ice scythe, she still did not like the feeling that killing in cold blood procured her.

Lost in her thoughts, Lutta failed to notice that she had lost control over her ability to transform. She was changing from several types of owls, sometimes she took back her form as a crow and she would also assume her real form in a situation or two.

When she came back to reality and noticed what was happening, she quickly gathered all the focus she could and assumed the form of a crow once more, and this time she would be sure to remain a crow. Not just for her own safety but also because she could perturb the mind of a poor owl that watched her change back and forth between countless species of owls.

She kept flying for about two hours. That was when she flew above a desolate land. There were nearly no trees that bore leaves and the ground was extremely dry, a few spots of green could be seen at some places. That did not stop the caribous from living there.

Lutta even noticed one of them being attacked by wolves. She observed long enough to see the wolves perform the lochinvyrr, a sort of ritual where the prey would accept its death. After making sure that she could assume her true form, Lutta changed into a hagsfiend while flying.

As she continued to fly, the hagsfiend made out the form of several mountains in front of her. They were familiar to her but she had a hard time remembering the last time she had seen those. Eventually, her wings began to feel sore so Lutta decided to find a nearby tree and rest there for a short while. However, she ended up falling asleep as she rested.

When she woke up, she heard the growls of some wolves down on the ground. She wondered at who they were growling like that only only to find out that she was the one to whom the growls were intended. After she realised that she still looked like a hagsfiend, she began to understand why those wolves were aggressive like that towards her.

"Please, I do not want to cause any trouble. I just want to find someone dear to me. I mean none of you any harm," Lutta told the wolves.

"And why should we trust your words?" one of the wolves aggressively replied. "The last time we had to deal with your kind, it led us all to war!

"Yeah, so just come down here so we can kill you quickly and painfully."

"I already told you; I mean no harm to anyone and the last thing I desire is a war. If there is someone who would listen to me, I would be pleased if I could meet him or her without being torn to shreds first," Lutta said.

"What going on 'round here?" queried another wolf.

"We found a hagsfiend! She's up there on that tree. She says she wants to talk to someone that has authority. Do you think we should go tell Hamish about this?" asked one of the wolves.

"Yes, that would be a very good idea. While you three go see him, I'll talk to her."

The three wolves nodded and quickly went away in the direction of the mountains. She felt some sort of relief when those three wolves left but it wasn't exactly gone as Lutta still had to deal with the fourth wolf

"So, you're a hagsfiend, eh? Forgive us for our behaviour but ever since the last war against Nyra, we thought that you were extinct. And in all honesty, that Nyra didn't give you hagsfiends a really good reputation."

"I am used to this kind of reactions but I can assure you that I pose no threat to you. I only want to go beyond the Beyond the Beyond. If you allow me passage, I promise that you'll never hear of me again," Lutta explained.

"That is not for me to judge. Once Hamish will have spoken, and if he speaks in your favor, you will be free to do what you wish to do. Until then, I recommend you stay up there for now as many of my kind may try to kill you."

"You have interesting customs. Nevertheless, I will abide to your rules for now since I don't have much of a say in all of this."

"Very well. Hamish should arrive shortly now. I do hope that you will keep that respect of yours while in front of him," said the wolf.

"What's this about hagsfiends and all. Didn't we kill them all during the last ... war," another wolf said, one that seemed to hold some kind of authority about all. Still, he was very surprised to see Lutta perched on a tree.

"Please do not be afraid, I have no ill intentions against you. And I can assure you that in no situation, unless faced with no other option than that, will I use my fyngrot. I only wish to seek passage through the Beyond."

"Why exactly do you want to have passage through our land, hagsfiend?" asked the same wolf.

"There is someone very important out there. He flew beyond this land, where no creatures dared to go, and I fear something has happened to him. By the way, feel free to call me Lutta."

"Greetings to you as well, Lutta. My name is Hamish, I am part of the Sacred Watch and I guard the Ember of Hoole. Now, concerning your matters with your safe passage through the Beyond; I'll agree only if you accept to stay out of sight. We wouldn't want to attract any unnecessary trouble, now would we?" Hamish told Lutta, baring his fangs as he laughed to his heart's content.

"Of course! Those are simple terms but I happen to have an alternative to staying out of sight," Lutta told the wolves as she began to assume her Barn Owl form in front of everyone.

Remembering what his good friend Coryn had told him about the the times of legends, Hamish recognised Lutta for her ability and said, "You're a changeling? I thought the first and last one died a thousand years ago."

"I can assure you that I am very real, Hamish. But now, am I allowed free passage through the Beyond?"

"Aye, a promise is a promise. You are free to go but I hope that we won't hear of you causing trouble somewhere," Hamish told Lutta.

"Thank you, Hamish. I am in your debt. However, I do not think that we'll meet again. Where I am going, I may very well die," explained Lutta.

Hamish nodded his head in agreement and then told her that she was free to go. Lutta thanked the wolf once more for his kindness. Not long after that, she took off and head towards the mountains she had seen earlier, which turned out to be volcanoes.

Those were the same volcanoes that housed the Ember of Hoole but it had no importance to Lutta. She had never desired it a thousand years ago and neither did she at the moment. She just kept flying and eventually passed the large volcanoes and continued her way to the directions Michael had given her if she wanted to leave the Beyond the Beyond.

Even in the past, the changeling had never flown this far because none ever thought of the possibility of an outside world beyond the boundaries they knew back then. At a certain point, a heavy mist started to appear and it made Lutta's vision extremely bad. She had a hard time seeing things ahead of her and even when she did, they were mostly just blurs of the real thing. She didn't know exactly for how long she had flown through that veil of mist and honestly, she wished it would just disappear and leave her travel safely and surely.

That did not happen but when she expected it the least, she flew out of the veil of mist and in front of her was a sight that she had never been able to observe both in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Right in front of her eyes was a large mass of water, one that made the sea of Hoolemere puny compared to this one, and above her were several objects she had never observed before.

One such object was a large bird made out of metal that flew at an incredible speed. The most impressive, and strange, about that was that the metallic bird never even flapped his wings once. That greatly puzzled Lutta but she took back her original attention and awareness.

"So, where do I go?" Lutta asked herself, or more specifically Michael.

—

After a very straining day with Jewel, Rafael and Dimitri, Blu had finally earned his moment of respite. First, he was attacked by Rafael's chicks, then thrown down a cliff only to land on a hang glider. He had later done a very bad mistake; opening his wings just when an updraft hit him. He and Jewel were hurled down their ride. Luckily, some other hang gliders saved them from a lethal fall. They were still thrown right against a tree and then fell in the sand below. They were later joined by Rafael and Dimitri and together, they climbed in a truck carrying coconuts.

Blu, even if several hours had passed since the incident, still taught about Kurth and his odd behaviour. He couldn't help but think that it simply did not resembled the owl he had befriended in the five years that had passed. After Kurth had tried to kill Jewel, the macaw did not want to hear one more thing about the wretched owl. Not only was he enigmatic but he was also disturbed and evil. Blu had tried to defend his friend from Jewel's harsh words although it only ended pitting the chained blue macaw against him.

"Jewel, I know you don't want to hear about it but Kurth isn't this kind of owl. If you hadn't provoked him in the first place, none of this would have happened," Blu told Jewel.

"Blu, I already told you that I wanted nothing more from that wretched owl. He is evil and that's final!" Jewel replied.

"Ja, she is right, you know. He is not our friend, not after vat he did to Jewel," added Dimitri.

"You stay out of this, Dimitri!" Blu exclaimed. "I don't know what you told Kurth but ever since you showed up, he's been acting strangely. He isn't the Kurth I know."

"Come on, I don't know who this Kurth is and even if I knew, it wouldn't change the situation. You shouldn't shatter your friendship because of something that happened in the past," Rafael said, trying to reconcile both parties.

"And what do you mean when you say that I provoked him? I only told him that he was overreacting because some idiot stole his memento! What's so special about it anyway?" Jewel queried.

"There's a simple reason as to why Kurth values his memento so much, even higher than his own life," Blu sighed.

"Come on, Blu. Spill ze beans," pressed Dimitri.

"It's a gift from his best friend. She gave it to him just before dying. You have to understand that it's the last thing he can remember her by. However, that same memento is also worth a large amount of money, so thieves desperately search for them so they can sell them back. Anyhow, if needed, Kurth would throw the heavens upside down just so he could find his memento."

"Still, that wasn't a good enough reason to try to strangle me for. If he had told me, I would've understood right away," Jewel told Blu.

"By ze vay, you said zat he vas becoming a something. Is zat vy his feathers vere becoming black?" inquired Dimitri.

"That's a very long tale and I don't think he would like it if I told you guys about it," spoke Blu.

"We have plenty of time and besides, what he doesn't know can't hurt him," Rafael said.

"Fine. Sit tight because this is going to be a very long tale."

—

Unbeknownst to the birds, a pair of black eyes was looming over them. It watched them as they travelled in the truck they were in. Those eyes belonged to an owl all too familiar with the blue macaw that was telling the story. However, the owl did not move, he only watched the four birds.

Unlike before, many feathers that Kurth had were starting to take a deep shade of black, exactly like a crow and he was larger than before. Most birds he crossed paths with were usually scared to death when they saw his form. That did not bother him. In fact, he enjoyed being feared that much, it filled some kind of hole.

His wing was still wounded so he was still unable to fly but unlike before, he began to feel some kind of feeling in his wings whereas he didn't before. Just as if he began regaining mobility over his wing. He still wasn't able to stretch it as he used to in the past but at the very least, he was feeling it move slightly.

Finally, Kurth decided to move out and began following the truck from the roofs of Rio. Thanks to Carnival, most of the roads were being blocked so that the parade could take place, slowing the truck down and allowing Kurth to follow it with ease. His objective was a simple one now; find and deal with those who stand in his path, whoever they are.

He eyed Dimitri a little bit more than he did before. Unlike when they first met, he began to lose trust in the black and red Spix's Macaw. In fact, he even began to distrust Blu even after all the years he spent with the Spix's Macaw. When he attacked Jewel, Blu had done nothing to support him or even defend him. No, he remained neutral and made the owl exile himself.

He swore that he would get his revenge on them and that they would all suffer greatly once he would deal with them. Nigel would probably be the first one to go and after that, the whole lot of them would feel his wrath for humiliating him and desecrating his and Serenade's names.

He moved very carefully through the roofs because if he fell, it would mean the end of him and his wish to regain his memento. He didn't even dare think about that—even less think about not getting his revenge—and instead simply proceeded with caution. He followed them just to be sure he could keep an eye on them. He had asked some birds about Luiz and while some of them told him where he was, he had to use intimidation so he could get more information out of them.

Eventually, the truck he followed stopped just next to a public market. The truck, in which were the macaws and toucan, was transporting coconuts. As the vehicle stopped, Blu and Jewel were thrown down the truck and landed brutally on the ground. Then, the four birds were joined by two other birds.

Kurth recognized those two birds as being the same one they met the day before when they were in Tulio's car after Blu and Kurth had arrived in Rio. A canary and a red-crested cardinal opened a conversation with the birds the Barn Owl followed. Unnoticed by the other birds, Kurth made his way to the ground so he could follow their movements with more ease.

Still clutching to the shadows as much as he could, Kurth slowly walked against the edge of a wall, shrouded in the darkness. Thanks to his feathers now turned black, he had even more ease to stay hidden. He followed the birds until it lead to some kind of tent where he clearly saw lights reflected against the cloth covering the place they had entered.

Realizing that he would get recognized, the owl decided to stay outside and just wait for them to get out of that place. When they would get out, they would surely get one heck of a surprise as he had prepared a special treatment to the three macaws.

—

Blu, alongside Jewel, Dimitri and Rafael, entered the club and the two Spix's Macaws were astonished to see such energy come from the various birds already inside. A catchy song played and most of the birds were all dedicated to their samba. They danced with an endless energy and it seemed as if they would never stop.

"Quite the party, eh?" Rafael asked, in a most cheerful voice.

Blu could tell by the voice of the toucan that he enjoyed everything the club had to offer. Then, the two other birds, Nico and Pedro, made a little speech, presenting Blu, Jewel and Dimitri to the community. They received quite a good greeting. After that, they proceeded into getting the attention of all the birds of the club and seemed like they were preparing for a song.

_I wanna party  
>I wanna samba<br>I wanna party  
>I wanna samba<br>I wanna party  
>And live my life (my life)<br>I wanna party (party)  
>And fly<em>

_Imma fly, fly just like a bird  
>(But you are a bird)<br>Oh yeah, you're right so let me fly just like a rocket then  
>(Okay)<br>__Fly so high where I need to come down for oxygen (hey)Cause once we started, baby, ain't no ain't no stoppin' then (Hey)__  
><em>_Cause I just want to live my life and party (Hey)  
>All I want is to be free, and rock my body (Okay)<br>Been around the world and I wanna live my life  
>In Rio<br>'Cause in Rio  
>In Rio, I realize<em>

Eventually, Blu gave into the beat of the music, remembering some kind of events happening when he was just a chick inside a forest. He began by shaking his tail feathers, giving him a weird stare from Jewel as well as a giggle from her part. Then, he completely merged with the rhythm and began to samba like he never did before.

Jewel was most surprised to see the scared macaw being so energetic, so playful. Ever since they had been chained together and before that, the azure feathered macaw had noted that Blu was easily scared by the simplest of things. When they wandered through the rainforests just after escaping the smuggler's residence, she saw that even a stick was enough to scare him off.

Still, seeing the macaw being so energetic encouraged her to start dancing herself and that's exactly what she did. Her movements were more gracious than Blu's, that much was evident, and not to mention more synchronized. That didn't stop the two birds from making a performance for everyone else to see, stunning Blu with her most graceful voice.

The two Spix's Macaw had impressed each other and both delved into the other's passionate gaze. Love, and many other close feelings, could be seen in their eyes. As they got closer and closer for an embrace, the cloth covering the club was ripped and thrown away. Before everyone, a gang of monkeys seemed to have been responsible for ruining their party.

"You two are coming with me!" ordered one of the monkey.

That monkey clearly seemed in charge. Not because he was in front of the group of monkeys, it was more the watch and all those other accessories he wore so casually. No doubt they were all stolen good. He tried to put a little intimidating act but all it earned him was a blazing glare coming from Jewel and Blu.

"If I were you, I would leave those two alone!" exclaimed a voice unknown to most birds and the monkeys, but not to Blu, Jewel and Dimitri. "They're mine!"

"And just who might you be, stranger? I haven't seen you recently. Are you new in town?" asked the leader of the monkeys.

"Me? I'm no one you should bother yourself with since you will be nothing but a distant memory in a few minutes," Kurth said as he got out of the shadows.

Upon seeing the Barn Owl, Blu began to panic … a lot! He knew that the owl was out for revenge but what really stroke fear into him was that he saw the the owl's feathers were nearly all black. A hint of yellow could be seen in the depths of his eyes. More than ever, Kurth was beginning to resemble a hagsfiend. Another thing that scared Blu was the harsh, cruel and cold stare that he gave both the macaws and the monkeys. It was in no case a good sign.

"Well, this isn't your fight, so I'd suggest you leave. Now!"

"I'm not so sure that you have the authority to order me around. Nor do you have any to make me move. If anyone were to leave, I think it would be you and your little monkeys."

"Do you have a reason as to why we should be listening to an owl like you?"

"I'm really not in the mood to make bloodshed and so, I would gently allow you to leave before things get bloody," Kurth replied.

The Barn Owl was starting to irritate the leader of the monkeys and ere, he turned to face the owl so they could be eye to eye. He wasn't scared of some silly owl. No matter the size Kurth had, he didn't install fear into the primate's being. He just continued to face the owl and offered a challenging glare to the large bird.

"Look at our numbers! You are all alone and you hope to deal with us?" The monkey exclaimed, challenging Kurth even more.

"Uh … if I were you, I wouldn't play that game with him…," Blu told the primate, shaking slightly.

"Listen to the macaw. He has a point. If you dare challenge me too much, I might just accept and then, it would get really messy and bloody."

"Whatever! Alright guys! Take care of him and then we'll get the macaws!" ordered the monkeys' leader.

"Uh-oh! This is not good! Really not good!" Blu panicked.

Kurth scoffed as he unsheathed his sword, spilling one of the monkeys' guts on the ground. For some other monkeys and birds, they were repulsed by the sight of it all but that didn't stop them from continuing to attack the owl. He continued to slaughter some of the primates.

Eventually, one of them got too close to him. While he was close enough to avoid receiving any damages coming from Kurth's sword, the monkey failed to take knowledge of the Barn Owl's sharp beak. Before long, Kurth struck his beak in the monkey's chest and a few seconds later, ripped out the primate's heart. Even more repulsive, he ate the heart he took from the monkey.

That alone installed fear in most of the monkey most of them fell into retreat. Some of them had been knocked unconscious on purpose so they could report to the one giving them orders. Kurth thought that it could be Nigel but he clearly suppressed the thought as he turned to face the birds of the club.

Without any warnings whatsoever, Dimitri sunk his claws into Kurth's neck. He suddenly felt an intense pain course through his entire body but it wasn't anything he couldn't endure. He had survived wounds ten times more painful than the macaw's poor excuse for claws. The black and red macaw still managed to pin Kurth to the ground and held him into that postion.

"You…!"

"Yes, me! I zink you never vould have zought that I vas under Nigel's orders all along!" Dimitri laughed, somewhat maniacally.

"Why you … useless piece of garbage! I should have known that you were of no trust at all!" Kurth barked at the unusual Spix's Macaw.

"He told me zat you vere to be taken care of. I vas told that deadly force could be employed.

Kurth's eyes began to roll back as he began to lack air passing through his lungs due to the pressure Dimitri applied to his throat. He was beginning to lose consciousness and his life began to flash before his eyes. He remembered the things he had accomplished during the last fifteen years.

However, he began remembering things that were stored deep inside his mind. Things he would have otherwise been unable to remember. With those newly acquired memories, he began to understand a little bit more who he really was. His eyes opened in a jolt and everything that was heard was thunder.

—

As she kept flying, Lutta was searching for a location where she could find Kurth. Despite her wide ventures, she still had not found a single place where she could find the Barn Owl she was searching for. Suddenly, she heard the loud sound of thunder and then saw the blur of a lightning bolt crash down on a precise spot. However, there were no clouds above that area nor were there any above her. A realization dawned upon her and she headed for that spot where the lightning had crashed.

'_Could it be? Could he have already remembered his origins? If so, I'd better hurry up before things get out of control_,' Lutta thought.

—

**Hehehe! I like cliffies! What about you? Anyway, yeah, Dimitri's a traitor, Kurth's out of his mind and closer to becoming a hagsfiend. What was that lightning bolt? What's happening to Kurth? Each of your questions will be answered through the next chapters. For now, just be patient and please do leave a review if you enjoyed. May it be positive, constructive or negative, leave me your impression of my story.  
>This is LordKurthnega46, signing off! Until next time<strong>


	10. Threatened!

**I present you chapter 10 of The Visitor. Last time, we went into the historic and origins of Kurth's true identity. This time, we'll be seeing what happened after the cliffy in the last chapter. However, I have other cliffies for this chapter, one of those two being one that may make you hate me for some time. Anyway, let's get on with this chapter.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Rio, Blue Sky Studios and Carlos Saldanha do. As for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kathryn Lasky owns the series, not me.**

**Dimitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**However, I ****do ****own ****Kurth, Serenade, Michael, Lucy and Henry as well as the personality Lutta has. The character belongs to Kathryn Lasky, though.**

—

**Chapter 10: Threatened!**

Once the veil of dust gave way, Blu and Jewel lowered their wings that served to protect their faces from the phenomenon that happened right in front of their eyes. The black and red Spix's Macaw, Dimitri, had taken flight and was looking at the small cloud of smoke and dust that surrounded Kurth with narrowed eyes, like a predator waiting for its prey to show up. Most birds around them, as well as the monkeys that had originally confronted them, had been knocked out. Still, Blu didn't want to believe what he had witnessed.

The noble Barn Owl Kurth had become extremely haggish and he even enjoyed the slaughter he caused. All the blood that was spilled was more than enough to make the blue macaw sick. What had surprised him equally were Dimitri's revelations. Neither Blu nor Jewel had expected the black and red macaw to be under the orders of Nigel.

Then, a massive pressure of wind shattered the barrier of dust and smoke around Kurth, revealing a large creature covered in black feathers. It possessed characteristics from both crow and owl. Ranging from the long and sharp beak of the crow to the owl's ear tufts and large talons. It was a creature that no one had seen before. However, its eyes belonged to neither bird. No, they were yellow and they glowed brightly. The creature gave its identity away when Blu noticed the blade tightly gripped in the creature's foot. At that moment, Blu knew who it was and what it was. It was Kurth and he had become a hagsfiend!

"Jewel! Stay close to me and whatever you do, never look in his gaze directly. You'll end up regretting it!" Blu exclaimed, turning sideways to avoid gazing at Kurth.

"You know who that weirdo is? I thought he had just appeared out of the blue," Jewel replied.

"You and I both know who he is. That's Kurth, and he's a hagsfiend, a creature known for its malice and violent behaviour."

"Wait! You mean to tell me that this thing is Kurth. How in the world did he pass from an owl to ... this?"

"Yes, now come on! If we stay here, we risk placing ourselves in a very delicate situation and by delicate, I mean very awful!" Blu exclaimed as he grabbed hold of Jewel and started running away from the scene, leaving Dimitri alone to face the hagsfiend Kurth had become.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Jewel protested when Blu grabbed hold of her.

"Saving our lives! That's what I'm doing!"

"But why? What's so dangerous about him?" Jewel queried.

"Everything!" Blu let out, both scared and nervous. "If you thought he was dangerous enough as an owl, you'll learn about a whole new meaning of the word dangerous. Now, come on! We can't stay here any longer!"

"But ... what about Dimitri? We can't leave him here if you say that Kurth is so dangerous!"

"He made his choice. The only thing we can do without placing ourselves in a mess is to pray that he will come out unscathed from his encounter," Blu replied.

"But...!"

"No buts! We have to run! Now!"

Jewel wanted to help the black and red macaw but she knew Blu had a point. If they stayed any longer, they would probably receive the same treatment as the monkeys. However, she still had a life ahead of her and she wanted to live it to its full extent. The only good thing they could do was to follow Blu's idea and get away from the hagsfiend.

As they ran away, another bird, one that closely resembled a flamingo, grabbed their chains and flew away with hem dangling upside down. Fortunately, it allowed the two blue macaws to escape from the massacre caused by none other than Kurth. They were later joined by Rafael, Nico and Pedro. All those birds had questions all over their faces but they planned to wait a little bit before asking Blu and Jewel. The pink bird then dropped the two macaws on the tramway that was to lead the to Luiz's place.

For a last time, Blu glanced at the two birds locked in what seemed like a staring contest. Dimitri, who was flying above Kurth kept the visual contact and from what Blu could see, the unusual Spix's Macaw was taunting the former owl. Just as Dimitri was about to muster a taunt, Kurth did something that mortified Blu; he opening he port wing and it was in perfect shape, just as if everything that had happened in Moose Lake never occurred. With that, Kurth could take flight at any moment and when that would happen, everyone that was on Kurth's black list would suffer a horrible fate.

To their advantages, the tramway moved out of Kurth's sight. That allowed them to continue their way without having to worry that much about the threat the hagsfiend posed. Although they wished to say the same thing about Dimitri, they tried their best to suppress that thought from their minds so they wouldn't have clouded judgment and logic. It was hard to accept but they also had their own problems and they needed to solve them before tending to other problems.

—

Kurth glared at Dimitri. He gave him a very cold glare, trying to discourage the macaw into abandoning the fight so he could take his life with more ease. He hated the macaw and he needed him dead to quench that hate. Dimitri had tried to kill Kurth and he was a traitor all along. Just for being a traitor, the black and red Spix's Macaw had to be dealt with. But on another optic, the hagsfiend should be grateful to the macaw. Why? Because he had tried to kill him, Kurth was able to remember who he truly was.

"I shall warn you once more, feeble vermin! Stand down now and accept your fate. Your life is already mine for the taking," Kurth told Dimitri.

"And vy vould I listen to you? You are just an ordinary bird like me!" replied Dimitri.

"So be it! You have chosen your path. Now prepare to die, insect!" Kurth let out.

And then, Kurth took off, holding on to his sword even more tightly, and went directly for Dimitri. Seeing that the hagsfiend was closing in at an incredible speed, the black and red Spix's Macaw dove to evade the blade aimed directly at him. Over the time that had passed, Dimitri also recovered his memories and with his reacquired abilities, he stood a chance against the former Barn Owl. Dimitri's evasion frustrated Kurth. He intended to finish the battle quickly so he could focus on Blu and Jewel.

However, Kurth didn't want to use his fyngrot because it would make the battle too easy. He wanted to see the macaw's worth. After all, he had killed so many of his kin in order to obtain his revenge so killing a single, little macaw shouldn't prove to be too much of a hassle. He was almost four times the size of the macaw and yet, he was unable to land a hit despite the range he possessed. Using his fyngrot would hardly be fair. It would also be hard to use because he wasn't sure if the Spix's Macaw possesses a gizzard that could be affected by the nachtmagen. In any case, he still tried to land a hit on his opponent.

Many of Kurth's attempts to wound Dimitri ended up in failure because the macaw kept evading most of his attacks. He then realised that his sword was slowing him down instead of giving him a fighting chance. Upon realising that, he dropped his sword and went all out on the macaw. Going by its weight, his sword weighted more than the usual battle claws owls used. If he could, he would gladly use an ice scythe since he had a lot of experience with that weapon. Just like he predicted, the hagsfiend was even faster than before and it demanded Dimitri a lot more efforts to keep up with Kurth's speed.

Still, Dimitri was able to evade most of the hagsfiend's attacks and he was able to pull out a lot of feints. Even more astonishing, Dimitri managed to inflict some minor injuries on Kurth, most of them being on his breast and back. Eventually, the hagsfiend lost his patience and his cool. In an instant, his eyes were glowing brightly unlike never before and he then stared into the black and red Spix's Macaw's gaze.

Caught off his guard, the macaw met the hagsfiend's stares and in a matter of seconds, his whole body froze. He started losing his sense of orientation as well as his wits. He looked up and saw Kurth right in front of him. He only had time to curse his misfortune before the hagsfiend brought his talons on one of his wings, tearing away his flesh and snapping several bones. His wing became numb a few moments after he was struck. He fell on the ground; his back hitting the ground first, and saw Kurth diving right at him.

A single cry echoed through Rio, blood splattered on the ground and then, there was silence...

—

Even in the distance, Blu and Jewel both heard the cry of anguish and began mourning the death of the black and red Spix's Macaw. While that cry could have belonged to anyone, the two blue macaws were sure that it was Dimitri's. If it hadn't been for Dimitri, and they were fully aware of it, Blu and Jewel would have been reduced to bloody pulps. The least they could do was to thank him for his actions.

"If that isn't evil Blu, then what is?"

"I don't know Jewel but I will have to agree with you now. Kurth has completely lost it and he needs to be stopped."

"Whoa! Hang on a second there! Who's gonna do that Blu?" Pedro queried.

"Well, I thought..."

"Oh no, you don't! I may be feisty but there is nothing that will make me face that owl another time. He'd kill me in a matter of seconds!" Jewel exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's got a point there, man. None of us are a match for him. He's goin' to murder us like hatchlings," Nico added.

"But if nothing is done, he's going to kill a lot more than just us. We have to stop him."

"In case you've forgotten, Nigel and those smugglers are still on us and honestly, we had enough trouble as it was with just them."

"You've seen what he can do. If he wanted, he could easily kill Nigel in an instant," Blu informed the other birds.

"That may be so but for now, we should concentrate on getting this thing off. After that, we'll have all the time of the world to worry about him or Nigel."

"Come on, Blu," Rafael pleaded. "you know that right now, you can't do much."

"Fine but don't say I never warned you when he finds and attacks us," scoffed Blu.

"So ... now that we've taken care of this matter, can we change the mood; this one's gettin' awfully dull."

"Why not?" Jewel answered. "After all, pessimism ain't going to take us anywhere."

"Agreed!" Nico cheerfully let out.

—

A few leagues away from the city of Rio de Janeiro, a lone Barn Owl flew through a large storm. She had faced the katabats of the Northern Kingdoms more than a few times but even the northern winds couldn't be compared to the winds of the storm. Of course, she had never faced hurricanes before and therefore had no experience in those kinds of winds.

However, Lutta was determined to find the place where the sudden lightning bolt had crashed. There could have been a thousand possibilities about that phenomenon but the changeling was sure that it was nothing natural. In fact, there were no clouds that could have produced lightning bolts when it crashed down out of nowhere from the sky. To her, it wasn't something that was exactly natural. It seemed more like the work of nachtmagen since the lightning bolt was blue.

Despite the strong winds pitted against her, Lutta kept flying and at some point, she reached a location where the winds intensified tremendously. She even lost control of her flight when a blade of wind hit her head on. When the winds proved to be far too strong for her, she realised that she was fighting against the hurricane itself. Kurth had once told her that normally, there were no fighting hurricanes. Doing so would end up killing those who braved the storm.

On the contrary, Kurth had told her that there is one way he had tried before that allowed one to pass through a storm like that but it wasn't a very good choice if one was a hagsfiend because it involved diving into water. Fortunately for her, Lutta was a changeling and her special ability to change her form into any kind of owl and some kind of other birds made it easier for her to plunge into water as her wings possessed preen oil, oil secreted by mostly every birds at the exception of Barn Owls and a few other birds.

The changeling changed her form into that of an Eagle Owl and plunged into the raging storm. As she descended, she could feel the wall of wind created by the hurricane hurl against her face. She knew that attempting to do what she was about to do was begging for a quick death but she had received the required knowledge from Kurth. By descending at a very high speed, one could pierce through the wall of the hurricane and make it to its eye. Once at the eye, she would have to dive and plunge in the water. After that, she would have to quickly emerge from the water so her feathers don't get too soaked. If that were to happen, she would be found dead on a shore somewhere in the world.

After going through everything that she would have to do in order to get pass the hurricane, Lutta set her plan into motion. She was already descending at a high speed and still continued to do so as she dove closer and closer into the hurricane's embrace; an embrace that usually brought upon death. The turbulence around made it difficult for her to stay completely stable and she was worried that it might make her entire plan fail. She finally pushed the grim thought aside and concentrated on what she was doing.

She finally reached the outer barrier of wind the hurricane created and, according to Lutta, they were extremely though and ferocious. Getting through then would be no easy task but if it was required to talk some reason into Kurth's mind, nothing in the whole wide world would be able to stand between her and her goals. The winds threw her around on some occasions. Still, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. At a certain point, she went into a spin and pierced through the strong barrier of wind.

She struggled to stay stable and avoid getting trashed around by the merciless wind blades that were abundant in the inner layer of wind the hurricane possessed. She was nearly constantly whipped by those wind blades and while any other owl, at the exception of those with extremely strong gizzards, would have already given up, her resolve kept her going. It was that same resolve that gave her the belief that Kurth could be saved from himself before the darkness would overcome him completely. Anyway, she continued her spin and once again pierced through the layer of wind.

She had now reached the eye of the storm and it was exactly like she imagined it to be: a chaotic mess. Some debris flew around everywhere and she was lucky some didn't hit her sometimes. Even worse, lightning bolts were raining down like crazy. She evaded them at the best of her ability and eventually plunged towards the water. Unfortunately, she was hit by a lightning bolt just as she began plunging. Her feathers singed and she began falling, completely motionless. She presented no reactions at all and just continued to fall towards her incoming doom.

"Oi! You're giving up so easily after everything you overcome just to come out here? I thought you had more resolve than that, Lutta."

"Shut up!" Lutta burst.

And with that, her eyes jolted open in a matter of seconds. She felt the electricity course through her body and she knew that she would probably gamble with her life if she plunged into the water. However, if she didn't do it quickly, she would miss the best moment to escape the hurricane and continued her way to where Kurth was. In the end, she chose to gamble rather than to let a golden opportunity pass her by. She resumed her plunge and went directly for the water. Just before she entered the water, she went into a spin to gain more control of her dive.

Luckily for her, even If she was struck by lightning, the sea's water didn't react to her in any kind of way. She was not electrified nor did she die instantly. She had gambled and she had won fair and square. A few minutes later, she emerged from the water and noticed that the storm had taken some distance. With that observation, she continued her flight towards the shore where she was sure Kurth was.

A few hours passed since Lutta had escaped the storm and just as she was began to waver, she arrived in a bay leading to an enormous city. If the Ga'Hoolian civilisation was big, then this civilisation exceeded it by far. Everything looked small in the sky but as the hagsfiend descended, each and every building grew larger and larger until she began to feel minuscule compared to everything around her. Eventually, she spotted a group a birds; birds that were unknown to her. Two of them were blu, one yellow, another red and the last one had a very large beak covered with several colors while its body was mainly covered with black feathers.

When she saw that they had also noticed her, she saw that they somehow withdrew. Wondering why they were doing that, Lutta descended some more until she was at the height of the tramway they were on. There, she noticed that they were scared of her and that one of the blue birds was shaking. It puzzled her slightly because she was sure that she had never seen such birds in her life. Intending to ask them why she placed so much fear in their beings, she alighted on the tramway and approached the group of birds.

"Go on! Make it quick and painless!" let out the other blue bird, whose words stung like venom.

"I do not know what you are talking about but let me assure you that I mean you no harm. I am only searching for someone dear to me," Lutta replied.

"Wait! This voice ... you're not Kurth, are you?" asked the shaking blue bird.

"You know of Kurth?" Lutta asked. "Please let me know where he is!"

"We're sorry but we have no idea about his whereabouts now. We lost each other after he tried to kill us," said the toucan.

"So, you don't know where he is?"

"Unfortunately not. Now, why don't you begin by telling us who you are!" growled the second blue bird, obviously a female.

"You're Lutta ... right?" queried the male blue bird.

"Yes, I am. But how did you know me while I do not know anything about you young'uns?" inquired Lutta.

"Well, before Kurth became completely psycho and tried to slaughter us a, he talked dearly of you. He told me about what he did in that alternate version of the past," the male blue bird explained.

"Of course he would! He's still clinging on things he can no longer change. In any case, may I ask for your names?" asked Lutta.

"I'm Blu. Like the color but without the 'e' at the end."

"I'm Jewel and don't you dare think about backstabbing us because I'll be watching you."

"As you will, Jewel, but like I said, I do not mean any harm o you young'uns," Lutta replied in a momentary churr.

"The name's Nico and this fella is Pedro," said the yellow birds, introducing himself and the red-crested cardinal.

"You can call me Rafael, Miss Lutta," spoke the toucan.

"Please, Rafael. Lutta will be just fine. Anyway, it's an honour to meet you lot."

"Great!" Jewel replied in a harsh tone. "Now can you tell us who you really are?"

"Jewel!" Blu let out, outraged by the Spix's Macaw's attitude.

"It's fine, Blu. I get that a lot but Jewel here bring up a good point; my identity. You have the right to know me. Who I am, what I am. You have a right to know that knowledge. I recon you've seen Kurth as a hagsfiend by now."

"Yes, and he also tried to kill us!" Pedro exclaimed.

"And I guess that he was acting strangely of late?" Lutta asked the group.

"That he was. He was way more aggressive then he normally was," Blu answered.

"Wait! You know things we ignore, am I right?" Jewel inquired, still insecure around the changeling.

"I know many things you all ignore but if it concerns Kurth, I'm afraid that you know just a few things about him. Only three beings know of his real identity: Kurth and I as well as our mutual companion, Michael."

"But ... isn't he dead. How could a dead man know about those things? At the very least, he should be buried in a tomb."

"Come now, Blu. Don't tell me you've lost your imagination," spoke a voice unknown to every bird except for Lutta.

"Who said th... Oh my God!"

—

**I'm evil, ain't I. So, a tragic event happened between Kurth and Dimitri and all believe that the black and red Spix's Macaw is dead. I should have told you that some of my cliffies are evilly placed sometimes. Lutta met with Blu and Jewel's group and got mistaken for Kurth as she is a hagsfiend too. An unknown figure also surprised Blu and his friends. If you want to know more, stay tuned to this story.**


	11. The Appearance of a Ghost

**Hey there! How are y'all doing? I tell you in advance, if you have a soft heart, go get a box of tissues before you begin to read this chapter. A part of it will surely make you emotional of you do have a soft heart. In any case, for the moment, just sit back and enjoy the chapter. This will show you lot how evil I am when it come to making cliff hangers.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Rio, Blue Sky Studios and Carlos Saldanha do. As for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kathryn Lasky owns the series, not me.**

**Dmitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**However, I ****do ****own ****Kurth, Serenade, Michael, Lucy and Henry as well as the personality Lutta has. The character belongs to Kathryn Lasky, though.**

**—**

**Chatper 11: The Appearance of a Ghost**

"Who the heck?" Jewel let out, slightly surprised.

"Everyone, I present you Michael, the one who helped both Kurth and me," told Lutta.

"Hey there!" greeted Michael, cheerfully.

"Um, is it normal if I am at a loss right now?" Rafael queried.

"Definitely. I mean, how can someone who's dead stand among the living?" Nico asked.

"For many a reason. Some not worth telling the tale while others may be helpful to all of you. Those I'm about to tell you concern both Kurth and Lutta," Michael explained.

"All of this is fine and all, but why don't you start by telling us how you are here?" Jewel asked Michael on a harsh tone.

"Quite the feisty one, this little Spix's Macaw," Michael replied in a mocking tone. "but in any case, I was about to inform you of that. Next time, learn to control your impatience and keep that tongue of yours in your beak."

"Hey, don't pick on the lady. She's done nothin' to ya!" Pedro let out.

"Please, had I wanted to pick on her, I would have used a harsher tone than that. I was merely amused by her lack of patience."

"You still haven't answered her question, though," said Blu.

"Fine, fine. If you want answers, then answers you shall obtain."

"Go on, we're listening," Jewel replied.

"Although you lot are right, only my mortal body died. Humans in general have two shells, the mortal one and the spiritual one. I has ascended to the spiritual form but when humans do that, they are generally sent to Heaven. However, I do not believe in Heaven or in any kind of religion as a matter of fact. As a result, I was left to roam the Earth freely," said Michael.

"Whoa, hold on! So you're some kind of spirit that roams or haunts the world of the living. You're startin' to scare me now," Pedro told Michael.

"I am not a threat to you. Instead, I was instructed to deal with Kurth, either by reasoning with him or by striking him down."

"Instructed by whom?" Blu queried, lost in the human's explanation.

"I was instructed by Glaux himself. You see, Kurth's very existence is a threat to the world. He is too powerful for this world and as I was able to sense earlier, he became a hagsfiend, right?"

"How did ya know?" Nico inquired.

"I can sense Kurth. After all, I spent ten years inside that owl's mind and during all those years, I learned some rather disturbing things about Kurth. Lutta, do you mind telling them?" Michael asked as he looked at the changeling.

"Not at all. All right, young'uns, listen well. I don't plan on repeating myself!" Lutta let out so she could gain the attention of all the other birds.

"We're listening," Blu answered.

"Good. Now, as Michael here said, Kurth's very existence is a threat to the world. There are a few reasons to this; one of them being the possibility that he has gained access to the book of Kreeth, a book written by the arch-hagsfiend herself who also happens to be my adoptive mother."

"And this is supposed to help us struggle against Kurth?"

"No, it is supposed to be informative so you can understand the situation like we do! Now, please do be kind and don't interrupt Lutta another time."

"Thank you, Michael but I don't think that last part was really necessary. In any case, the book of Kreeth is a powerful artefact containing various spells, some of them being extremely dangerous," Lutta told the group.

"But, as far as I'm concerned, Kurth never gained access to that book during these last few years so I think he read it after he killed Kreeth died," said Michael.

"But ... Kurth told me that Kreeth lived nearly a thousand years ago and he never told me that he had read such an ominous book. If he really did read that book, then it must mean that he's...," Blu began before beginning to catch on the situation.

"Yes, Blu, it is as you think. Kurth isn't a regular Barn Owl near the end of his life. He's a creature like me, a changeling. But unlike myself, his gizzard is filled with darkness and consumed by hatred. And he didn't suffer the same fate I did. In fact, he's older than all of you here. He fooled you all."

"Wait, are ya tellin' us that he's over a thousand years old. Babe, that's impossible," Pedro commented.

"If he gained access to the Book of Kreeth, then everything that was impossible is now possible to him. Surely he managed to find a spell of immortality. Cursed with the dark powers of the nachtmagen, he can use the magic he learned at will. He's dangerous enough as it is so I came prepared if I have no other choice but to kill him," Lutta answered.

"Does that also make you over a thousand years old?" Rafael queried.

"No, it doesn't. I didn't have the same luck as Kurth. I was killed at a very young age and love was the cause of it all," said Lutta with a hint of regret in her voice.

"Excuse me but if you died, how is it that you are here with us instead of the afterlife?" Nico asked.

"I had some spare time during the last five years. I made a deal with Glaux, the owl god. The deal was rather simple; eliminate the threat Kurth posed by any means necessary. Since I could not deal with him physically, I made another deal and bargained with Glaux on some terms," Michael told the group.

"Which happen to be?" Jewel enquired.

"To revive me. And if we managed to eliminate Kurth's threat, I would be allowed to stay among the living once more. Those were the terms of his bargain," explained Lutta.

"I don't quite get it completely but tell me what your relation with Kurth is. He loved you dearly from what he told me before he went crazy and you said he was someone you cared about. Maybe that would explain why you're trying to help him so badly," Rafael suggested.

"Well ... he's..."

"I'll take it from here, Lutta," Michael said, stepping in front of the changeling.

"And what exactly might you know about her relation with Kurth?" Blu replied.

"More than you might think. In any case, their relation is somewhat special. I'm sure that by now, you've all noticed that while Lutta is a hagsfiend, she does not give off an ounce of malice. There's a reason for that..." explained Michael.

"There is?" Jewel asked.

"Yes. You see, Kurth and Lutta are complete opposites. Kurth is, well, her other half and he is the representation of all the evil my friend here had. Now, her soul is as pure as any well-intentioned maiden. There's also another thing that Kurth managed to hide from everyone due to his constant ability to change his form, something that only I found out. I told it to Lutta and now, I will pass this knowledge to you."

"Are you sure you want to share such a secret if it is so ... secret?" Rafael queried.

"If I keep it to myself, not only will you end up dead but it will also be my fault for not telling you so I prefer to share it so you know his background and what he can really do," spoke Michael.

"This seems like a good 'nuff reason. All right, we're listening," Nico said, speaking on behalf of the whole group.

"Okay, I'm not going to repeat this as it is still a touchy subject for Lutta so you better listen carefully. Alright, like I said, Kurth is Lutta's other half. That means that when the two are next to each other, they feel complete both in their gizzards and in their hearts. Complementary to this detail, they were both born from the same egg but they are not siblings."

"But how can that be possible?" Blu asked, really confused about the human's explanation.

"When dealing with nachtmagen, pretty much everything can happen. But that is not important right now. Since they are not siblings, this means that when they were born, the yin and the yang were set. Kurth was to embrace darkness so he took away nearly all the darkness Lutta could have possessed while Lutta took away nearly all the light he could have possessed. That is why I said that they were complete opposites. Because one represents darkness and the other, light. They don't belong in the same worlds," explained Michael.

"But the truth to this is that we need each other if we want to feel complete. We can be apart but we will always feel what the other feels if deep down in our gizzards. In the end, that feeling of emptiness drove Kurth to folly. All I can guess is that he escaped Theo's trap and that he lived in exile, killing any who came too close to him," Lutta added.

"Damn, ain't this goin' a bit too far? I mean, you guys like reinvented the definition of weird!" Pedro let out.

"I dunno 'bout you, Pedro, but I don't think they're lyin' to us," Nico told the red-crested cardinal.

"Well, I believe them," Blu said, stepping in front of the whole group even if he was slightly trembling.

"And for that, you have our thanks but unfortunately, I am needed elsewhere so I will have to take my leave. Lutta, would you mind staying with them and protecting them from danger?" Michael asked Lutta.

"You can count on me. But what if Kurth shows up while you're gone. I don't even have an ice splinter to stab his heart with," said Lutta.

Don't worry; just keep what I told you in mind for it will come in handy if you ever have to clash with Kurth. But there is another thing you should know about. The name Kurth is just a false name he used to avoid suspicion. His real name is Kretari."

"Seems ancient," noted Jewel.

"Quite right but it is befitting a creature old of a thousand years," commented Lutta.

"Kretari seems wrong so I think I'll stick with Kurth for a while."

"Yeah, me too," Nico added, agreeing with Blu's opinion.

Then, a strong wind hit the group of birds head on and that forced them to hold their ground. Well, if they didn't want to be brushed aside by the winds, holding their ground was probably the best choice they had. Strangely, Lutta was not affected by the winds and just stood there as if she a breeze was passing next to her. None of them knew where this wind came from but there was one thing they were sure of; it wasn't natural. Blu could prove it as he caught a glimpse of the trees above him and not once did he see the branches being affected by the winds.

"It would seem that it is a pressing matter. I'm afraid that I will take my leave for now. Until we meet again ... Lutta," said Michael before he disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared.

Blu had so many question that none of his new friends could answer. In fact, some of them couldn't even be answered by Lutta. He extended his wings to implore Michael into staying so he could answer his numerous question when he heard the human say that he would take his leave. It wasn't until Michael disappeared that Blu realised he acted selfishly. Hopefully, Jewel was there to support him and reassure him that she would have probably done the same thing if she were in his situation.

As for Lutta, she was still afraid of the coming encounter with Kurth, or Kretari as he was originally named. She couldn't get the idea that they could end up as enemies after all the time they spent together. But the worst was that she feared the possibility of her failing to save Kurth. If she had to kill him, she wondered how she would live without his presence. After all, she still loved him and losing him would surely affect her greatly.

Shortly after the Michael's spirit disappeared from everyone's sight, the tramway they were on stopped suddenly. As soon as it stopped, Rafael told everyone that they were getting down. Unlike before, Blu and Jewel were able to get down normally without abruptly falling down. Once the whole group and Lutta were on the ground, Rafael didn't lose any time in telling his friends that they were right in front of Luiz's garage.

Naturally, Blu was uncertain about going in the garage. Mostly because it was as dark as the night itself but also because it seemed to possess a strange aura, one he didn't like. Finally, since everyone else had already begun to walk towards the large door of the garage, Blu let go of his fear, although only slightly, and joined the rest of the group. And even if Lutta had assured the group that she meant no harm to them, the cerulean feathered macaw still felt insecure with the hagsfiend right behind him.

Soon, after some silly moments between a few of the group's members, they were all inside Luiz's garage. At first, it felt awfully empty as no one was able to hear any sound whatsoever. Even Lutta had to admit that the silence was disturbing, almost nerve-wracking. The group still ventured farther into the garage to realize that there was no one inside, except for them. They were about to turn back when they heard a sound comic from the back of the garage.

Then, a large dog jumped out of one of the cars inside the workshop and began chasing after everyone at the exception of Rafael. Unlike the others, the toucan managed to keep his calm despite the rather... peculiar situation. However, that was not the case for Lutta. Her eyes had instinctively begun to shine with a bright golden glow, indicating that she was using her fyngrot. Upon realizing what she was doing, the hagsfiend quickly stopped herself from fully using her fyngrot on any unfortunate souls that would gaze upon her eyes.

The dog instead tackled Blu and Jewel, knocking them down, and positioned himself in a threat display. Lutta was about to intervene, peacefully of course, but then Rafael broke the mood by bursting into a soft laughter and telling the dog to let go of his friends. Most members of the group were surprised that Rafael knew the dog but what surprised them the most was that the dog was Luiz. Not even Lutta had anticipated such a thing and was equally surprised.

"Wait a minute! Luiz is a Bulldog?" Jewel queried, her voice hinting both surprise and anger.

"Ya got a problem with dogs?" Luiz replied, responding to Jewel's rude answer.

"In fact, I do when they're drooling on me," Jewel stated.

"It's a medical condition," Luiz muttered under his breath, hardly audible for most.

"Excuse me but could someone explain to me the reason why we're in a garage with a dog?" Lutta inquired, puzzled by the current.

"We came here with the intention of getting rid of this chain," Blu told Lutta, showing her the chain that restrained both macaws to each other.

"And I think I have just the thing to help ya."

Luiz asked the group to follow him deeper into the garage and they complied. Compared to what it looked like outside, the garage was quite large inside. Several minutes later, they entered a room in which a table saw was. Blu, recognizing what Luiz was going to use, began to feel really nervous because a table saw wasn't something one should use carelessly. If used wrongly, it could easily kill its user. Nonetheless, Luiz made Blu and Jewel climb on a platform he elevated to later climb on the table saw.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Blu nervously asked.

"Don't worry, he's got his fair share of experience," Rafael told the macaw.

"I have the feeling we're gonna regret this," said Jewel.

"Relax, it's gonna be just fine. You need to trust Luiz," Nico told the macaws.

And they did. However, Luiz made things overly complicated as he always managed to stress the two Spix's Macaws by telling them that the helmet he had on blurred his vision and reduced his hearing. Of all things to say, such things were not the best things to say while trying to reassure someone else. Lutta thought that Luiz was being somewhat inconsiderate towards the two birds.

And so, the Bulldog began to push the chained macaws towards the saw that Rafael had turned on. The sight of the saw frightened Blu like never before and he wished that he hadn't with Luiz's idea in the first place. Still, even with Blu and Jewel's complaints, the dog continued to push the two birds as if he had never heard anything. However, just as Lutta had expected, Luiz lost his footing due to his own drool and pushed the birds even more, nearly throwing them at the saw.

Scared of the outcome of Luiz's klutziness, Jewel took off, lifting above the saw's blade but also dragged Blu with her. Without even analyzing Blu's situation, she didn't even see his head barely escape the saw's blade. She was still under a state of shock and didn't see the hanging lamp right in front of her. She hit it directly and was stunned of doing so. She hanged on the lamp and dove right back towards the table saw. She, however, miscalculated her plunge and she found herself descending straight at the saw.

A sudden, desperate cry echoed through the garage and the saw stopped almost instantly. The chain restraining Blu and Jewel was broken as Blu was thrown to the ground at a quite rapid speed. He tried to call out to the Spix's Macaw to show her his excitement now that he was free from the chain but no response came from Jewel. He wondered why and asked Luiz to take him up so he could talk to her. Once he was up, he saw that everyone had grim faces, including Luiz and Lutta.

"Where's Jewel?" Blu asked.

"Blu, she's..." Rafael told him, his voice broken by sadness.

Blu didn't have time to ask what happened to Jewel. Instinctively, he looked behind Rafael and then saw a mass of feathers and blood. Azure colored feathers to be precise...

—

**Hehehe, me and my cliffies. I hope you won't hate me because of them. Although I do think that I could place them a little more gently, I wouldn't see the fun of it then. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed chapter eleven because after this, things are gonna get worse and the final battle will approach quickly. Just be ready because I have a lot of cliffies where this came from.**


	12. A Brave Sacrifice

**Welcome back, people. Well, I thought that I'd be able to update a little sooner than this but I got mixed up in my old PSX games and I just couldn't keep my eyes off of them. In ant case, this chapter will be pretty decisive for the future chapters as the main arc is about to come to a close. Although I'm not exactly sure about it, I'm thinking about making a sequel to The Visitor. Give me your opinion on this in the reviews if possible.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Rio, Blue Sky Studios and Carlos Saldanha do. As for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kathryn Lasky owns the series, not me.**

**Dmitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**However, I ****do ****own ****Kurth, Serenade, Michael, Lucy and Henry as well as the personality Lutta has. The character belongs to Kathryn Lasky, though.**

**—**

**Chapter 12: A Brave Sacrifice**

Blu weakly approached Jewel's bloody remains. Her luck had run out. The cerulean bird was shaking tremendously as he slowly waddled up to the Spix's Macaw that was chained to him for the past twenty four hours. He just couldn't believe that in a matter of seconds, her life had ended so abruptly. With that, the last hope to save his species had died with her. But her death did not affect just Blu, it affected everyone else in the garage. Well, everyone except for Lutta.

"No, she can't..." Blu said as his voice was troubled by sobs. "Jewel can't be dead. She just can't."

"What a cruel way to die, poor Jewel," Nico spoke melancholically.

"She was so feisty, so kind and funny; fate seems to love messing with us," Rafael said.

"She's not dead, you know," Lutta commented.

"Haven't you seen her body?" Blu replied fiercely. "How can you say she's not dead?"

"Because she'll live on right here," said the changeling, pointing her heart with one of her claws.

"How can ya be so heartless? Blu cared about Jewel, y'know," Pedro told Lutta.

"Do you think Blu lived half of what I experienced? For your information, I was killed and revived a thousand years later. The one I originally loved died long ago but inside my heart, he's still very alive."

"You can't even begin to understand my situation. Jewel and I were the last of our species. Without her, our species will go instinct," Blu burst in rage, revolted by Lutta's attitude.

"So, I'm the last hagsfiend there is in existence. I can't even mate with a normal owl. But Kurth must've told you that if he spoke about our story. Hagsfiend must mate with other hagsfiend if they want to successfully reproduce," Lutta replied. "and now you want me to feel pity for you? You're strong enough to overcome this..."

"No! No, I'm not! I never was. I was kept as a pet for the past fifteen years. I've never been in the wild up until now. If anything, I'm just a weak, worthless bird that can't do anything without his owner," Blu said, now looking ashamed of his own worthlessness.

Lutta, upon hearing of Blu's story, became aware of his situation and culpability began to take hold of her. She began feeling sorry for her harsh words aimed at the Spix's Macaw. She also realized how much Jewel meant to him. She felt bad about the way she acted towards the cerulean macaw. So, she began to think of a way she could be forgiven for her words. Under normal situations, almost everything she could tell him would have no effect at all on Blu. But she was no ordinary bird and she then remembered that she still had another trick up her sleeve. One sentence given to her by a trusted friend.

"Please hear my voice, we need your help right now," Lutta whispered.

Alas, no response came unlike what she had expected. She didn't hear any voice echo through her head. She tried once more to summon her aide owl he could help them in their darkest hour. She still didn't get any answers for her calls.

She tried a third time, then a fourth but each time she tried to summon him, she would get no answer at all, as if he was completely ignoring her. Eventually, Rafael saw the changeling whisper to herself and approached her so he could hear what she was saying. Once he was close enough, he heard her efforts to summon her aide that ended in a failure each time.

"Whatcha doin' there, Lutta?" he asked the hagsfiend.

"Trying to call Michael for help. I want to to repair the pain I've inflicted to Blu with my cold words but each time I try to call him, he just won't answer my call," Lutta explained.

"Well' maybe he left some kinda key phrase for you to use when you're in a dire need of help."

Suddenly realizing what Michael had told her when he said that she should be prepared to take Kurth down of she had to, Lutta exclaimed, "Of course! Why didn't I think about that before?"

"Well, if it can save Jewel, I'm glad to have been helpful," Rafael told Lutta.

"Please, Michael, heed my voice. Jewel has died and we need your help. Please come to our aid."

Then, with an almost inaudible whisper, she said, "When darkness falls, light burns it bane."

All of a sudden, there was a large current of air that passed through the garage, sending dust in all direction. All of the birds, along with Luiz, had to either close or cover their eyes to avoid any kind of damage whatsoever they could receive to their eyes. Once it gave way, everyone saw Michael's ghost in the in the room. He went towards Jewel even if he didn't say or ask anything. As he watched the Spix's Macaw, he sighed as he examined the bird's bloodied body thoroughly.

"Can you do anything for her?" Blu asked Michael desperately.

"I could but doing so comes with its own set of risks. I could revive her as a hatchling although I doubt you'd like it. I could also restore her body to the way it was before she ended up like ... this. Or I could revert her to the state of an egg," Michael told Blu.

"But what do you mean when you say that they come with their own set of risks?" Lutta inquired.

"I was talking about the risks I'd be taking in order to save her. Blu, I'm sure you're familiar with the principal rule of alchemy."

"To create something, you must first give up on something that has an equivalent value... wait! You can't be thinking that!"

"To create or give back life, I must first give up on something that is of equivalent value, meaning that another life would have to be sacrificed in order to bring Jewel back to life. But as you already found out, I plan on using my own soul to give life back to Jewel," Michael said rogue whole group.

"Hold on. If you do that, who will be helping me fight back Kurth if I ever hesitate to strike him down?" Lutta inquired.

"Well, you'll have to trust yourself. After all, I'm just a wandering soul... I don't have physical presence or influence in the world anymore. In the end, you are still the only one that possesses the power to fend him off."

"Are ya alright with that? I mean, disappearing completely from the world," Nico said.

"Yes. I am not afraid of death. Then again, what is death? The end of one's existence? I prefer to think that every end has a beginning and that every beginning has an end. That way, nothing is ever truly permanent, is it?" Michael told the group.

"But what about Kurth?" Blu queried. "He is very attached to you as a friend. Losing you could cause his mind to literally break."

"I am aware of that but Kurth needs to depend on himself. When he was a Hoolian owl, he depended on my strength as well as the strength of those around him. Besides, there's a chance he might die despite all of your efforts to bring him back so my disappearance won't do him much harm."

"You have a very harsh way of putting things together, you know that?" Blu stated, using a very harsh tone, although not as harsh as Michael's.

"Such is the way I decided to live with. When you are branded for something that you may not be, you sometimes become that which you are branded for."

"In any events, are you sure you want to go on with this? Your very existence is at risk here," Rafael told Michael.

"I'm sure. My existence ceased to be fifteen years ago. And as I said, everything that has an end also has a beginning. Besides, who said I couldn't meet you lot in another life?"

"Then please, Michael, bring Jewel back to life. I haven't told her yet but I... I... love her. I've loved her ever since I met her," Blu pleaded, tears forming in his eyes.

"Don't beg for this, it's only gonna embarrass you," Michael commented.

But before Blu could even say anything, Michael put his hands over Jewel and in less than in instant, those same hands began to glow with a golden light. The group of birds saw the human's face change from a rather calm expression to an expression deformed by pain. They even heard him grunt in pain at some point of his intervention. While they were concerned for both Jewel and Michael, Lutta was more worried about her companion than for the Spix's Macaw. She had also come to depend on his vast knowledge when he helped her track down Kurth.

After nearly half an hour passed, the golden light that Michael's hands were emitting has yet to fade away and Jewel's body was slowly starting to resemble her original form. Some of the group's members - especially Nico, Pedro and Luiz - were in complete awe as they watches the human throw away his own soul for the same of another, and a bird at that. Whatever motivated him was mystery to most of them. Lutta had some kind of hypothesis but in the end, she was as clueless as the others.

However, his motives were no complex ones. All he desired was to be rid of his sins. He had accumulated so many since he was born and the shame they brought him was so immense that running away was not an option he could take. Dying had not solved that problem either since his soul remained attached to the Earth and so, he still had no solution to purge himself of his sins.

By sacrificing his own soul to help Jewel, he had found the perfect escape route to the sins that plagued his existence. By doing that, not only will he have accomplished a good act but he would have also frees himself from his own misery. He had been so shunned in his living days that one day, he killed one of the bullies that humiliated him each and every passing day.

Since he was a growing student in the arts of Kung-Fu, killing an actual human being was no hard task to perform. Still, he only added more to his list of sins and it eventually broke his mind. During that time, he found a rather appeasing hobby that kept his mind busy; writing. He wrote several stories about his own misfortune in hopes of forgetting his own past but alas, even his stories were not enough to contain his guilt and anger towards himself.

He sought retribution and yet, he didn't even know where to start so he could ever forgive himself. And just when he thought he could have loved a normal life after some social seclusion, he was transported to the fantastic world of Ga'Hoole and into the mind of Kurth, a mighty hagsfiend whose powers could match or even surpass Kreeth's.

For a short period of time he thought that by helping Kurth, he could obtain the retribution that he sought for so long. How deluded he was! It wasn't until he met with Glaux, the owl's god, that he realised that he held the power to obtain it all along.

He was just so desperate that he didn't think about what he could achieve with his own influence. He thought that others could help him with his personal problems while those kinds of problems could only be rid of by the person affected by those problems.

An hour had passed since Michael had begun healing Jewel and it was now visible to all that the human was serious about his intentions to save the macaw. The golden light his hands have off began to dim and both his body and mind wavered tremendously.

He wasn't sure if he could keep what he was doing for very long. His energy was almost drained completely. Then, all of a sudden, another specter appeared before all. He looked human but that was it. He had a wolf's ears on top of his head and a tail behind him. He stood tall and proud. He didn't utter a word and instead offered his hand to Michael.

The human accepted the other's offer and grabbed on to his hand. The moment his hand touched the otherworldly man, a bright light engulfed the entire garage. Michael had recognized the man that materialized right in front of him when he laid his eyes on him. He was none other than his very own creation; The White Wolf, Lord Kurthnega.

How he came to life, he would never know but by the look on the god's face, he offered his light to Michael. He allowed him to bathe in his cleansing light so he could obtain the retribution he sought for so long.

Right before he left with the god, Michael uttered a few words before disappearing from the world of the living completely, "Thank... you... everyone... for your... kindness."

After the blinding light faded back into shadows, Blu was standing in front of a very alive Jewel. The only thought of her being alive and well brought tears to his eyes. While she was overly confused, Blu left her no respite as he hugged her.

He was so glad that Michael had been successful but at the same time, it saddened him to think of his fate. Disappearing the way he did didn't exactly seem very comfortable and most of all, frightening. But the human was different.

Death did not scare him even slightly while the very word sent shivers down Blu's spine. Still, there was one question that remained in his mind: who was that strange figure that appeared in front of Michael.

"Blu! What do you think you're doing exactly?" Jewel exclaimed, embarrassed by Blu's behaviour.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Jewel!" Blu let out, still hanging on to Jewel. "I thought for sure that we had lost you for good..."

"What? What are you babbling on about?" Jewel queried, very confused about the situation.

Don't you remember? You were trying to evade the saw when you-" Blu began before Rafael silenced his last words.

"Shh! For now, she doesn't have to know. It will only add to her confusion.

"When I what, Blu?"

"He was just going to say that you passed out shortly after Luiz started the saw to cut the chain. You just gave us the fear of our lives. We were extremely worried for your welfare.

"Why do I have a hard time believing you, Rafael?" Jewel asked the toucan.

"Hey, I'm telling you the truth!" Rafael replied, defending his false innocence.

"Hey, by the way, guys, where's Lutta?" Nico asked the others.

"Now that you mention it, I think I saw her leave earlier. We better find her before she does anything reckless," Rafael suggested.

"Yeah, let's... go!" Pedro announced as if he was leading troops.

Jewel tried to take off and follow the other flying birds but due to her still being confused and slightly disoriented, she failed to do so. Accepting that for the time being she was not fit to take flight, Jewel resigned herself to walk just like Blu did. She was quite fast on her feet, faster than she thought she would be that is. She caught up to the others in a flash and together, they were heading to the door that led outside the garage. Outside, they found Lutta staring towards the skies above her. Her presence seemed to give off a dark aura, although not as dark as Kurth's.

"Lutta? Is everything alright?" Blu inquired.

"First, myself and now, him... how much do you intend to take from me, Kurth! Haven't you caused enough harm as it is?" Lutta shouted at the skies.

"What's wrong? You don't seem very happy," Jewel stated.

"Cherish your life, Jewel... it's a gift that should not be thrown away carelessly," Lutta said before taking off.

"Whoa, what's got into her mind all of a sudden?" Jewel let out, astonished by Lutta's behavior.

"Do you think we should tell her about it?" whispered Rafael to Blu.

Instead of replying to his question, Blu simply nodded and began approaching Jewel while being as discrete as possible so he would not alarm her in any way by rushing at her side. Although it tore his mind apart to tell such things to Jewel since he knew that she could very well refuse any claims he might tell her. After all, what happened in the garage is clearly a subject that defied any laws of reality. In any case, Blu cleared his mind and tried to make the brave act.

"Uh... Jewel?" Blu addressed Jewel, slightly stammering.

"Yes, Blu. What is it?"

"There's something I need to tell you. It's really important," Bku spoke, hints of uncertainty in his voice.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you remember what happened when we were on that table saw?" Blu inquired.

"Now that you mention it, I seem to have no recollection of those events," admitted Jewel.

"Well, during that gap in your memories, you died. Torn apart by the saw on the table saw."

"What are you talking about? How could I have died if I'm standing here right now?"

"You mark a point but we saw what happened and we saw the aftermath too. Truth is, about an hour ago, you were a mass of flesh, blood and feathers," Rafael added.

"If there is anyone you should thank, it's Lutta. If it hadn't been for her, you would've stayed dead," Blu told Jewel.

"But then, why did she leave?" asked a puzzled Jewel.

"Because you were brought back to life at the expense of Michael's life. He gave up the last remnants of his soul just to save your life. Lutta probably left because she was upset about losing a trusted companion and friend," continued Blu.

"No, this... can't possibly be true. It can't be!" Jewel burst as she shook her head. Moments later, she had taken off.

"Jewel, wait!" Blu called out, trying to stop her.

But it was already too late; Jewel had fled for many different reasons, one of them being the guilt that now plague her heart and mind. Because of her carelessness and her hypocrisy, she had robbed Lutta and the group of Michael, probably the only one that knew Kurth from inside out. What's worse is that the series of event she had caused had driven Lutta away, the only creature that could ever prove to be a match for a hagsfiend such as Kurth. She just needed time to think about all of that, all alone.

"Go after her and make sure she's okay. The last thing we want is to find out she's got herself in another messy situation," Rafael told Nico and Pedro.

"Aye, aye! Will do, Raffy," Pedro replied.

"What's going to become of us. First, Dmitri gets killed by Kurth and now, Lutta's left us. We've lost all of our fighting chances," Blu lamented, cursing their misfortune.

"Vho said anyzing about me being dead?" asked a rather familiar voice.

Both Blu and Rafael turned around and saw someone they thought they would never see again; a peculiar black and red Spix's Macaw. Both birds were completely speechless but something about Dmitri caught their attention. One of his wings was limp and clearly, Dmitri dragged it just to get there. Several questions passed through Blu and Rafael's minds. One of them concerning the events that took place the night before.

"But, however did you survive? We thought for sure that you were dead, Dmitri," Rafael told the macaw.

"He may have vounded my ving but I got one of his eyes," Dmitri said.

Suddenly, a cry was heard. One that Blu knew all too well. It belonged to the one he loved...

—

**Well, this one is over and yet again, I give you guys another cliffhanger. I know, I'm evil but I can't help it. If I didn't give you some, you guys would know all about my story at the end of each chapter. I've gotta make your mind work and wonder a little bit. Anyway, leave your positive/constructive/negative impressions in the reviews section below.**


	13. Despair's Embrace

**Welcome back guys, I hope I haven't missed you too much. On that last chapter, you guys really stormed my pages. I got around 500 hundred hits, although nowhere close last month's 1000 hits. And what's that, the only reviewers I got are Dmitri The Soviet Spix Macaw and an anon reviewer? Come on guys, show me your love on this Valentine's Day. Well, besides that, let's go onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rio, Blue Sky Studios and Carlos Saldanha do. As for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kathryn Lasky owns the series, not me.**

**Dmitri belongs to Dimitri The Soviet Spix Macaw.**

**However, I****do****own****Kurth, Serenade, Michael, Lucy and Henry as well as the personality Lutta has. The character belongs to Kathryn Lasky, though.**

**—**

**Chapter 13: Despair's Embrace**

So many emotions were processed through her brain and some of them made Lutta's gizzard twist in a most painful way. She was angry against herself, for her own helplessness, and she was just as angry against Jewel, Michael and Kurth. She hated Jewel because it seemed that the macaw threw her life away almost on purpose and because of that, the hagsfiend lost the only one that ever understood how she felt.

She was also angry against Michael, as well as sad too, since he could have easily found another source of life to sacrifice instead of his very own soul. The reason why he went along with those kind of plans eluded Lutta but there was no escaping the fact that he had a good reason to do it. When thinking about the human, the changeling remembered that he had often said that he wished he had never been born to begin with at some occasions. With that kind of theory in mind, his reasons for sacrificing his soul could become plausible.

But most of all, she now hated the owl - an owl now turned hagsfiend - that she once loved. Because of him, she had lost everyone she ever cared for, those she loved; even Hoole. Upon meeting Kurth for the first time, she came to know him as a caring Barn Owl but even at that time, his mind was somehow twisted. When faced with situations that threatened him or those he befriended, his mind went from a merciful, caring one to that of a merciless, bloodthirsty murderer. What she originally liked about him was the fact that he was so protective and kind towards her. No one had done that before him, not even her own parents or adoptive mother.

Her rage towards the hagsfiend burned deeply within the confines of her gizzard and the only thing she wanted of him now was to dispose completely of his existence. She wanted him dead and no one would stop her from doing so. By killing him, she would avenge those she truly loved, one in particular: Michael and... Hoole. Until the day she would draw her last breath, she would never forget about the Spotted Owl. His soul has been so immense that she had been submerged and seduced by him.

While flying, questing for Kurth's whereabouts, Lutta heard the scream of a very familiar bird. Upon hearing the scream, she banked to the right and headed straight to where she had heard the screams. She didn't know why she had done it but somewhere in the back of her mind, something told her that Michael wouldn't want his sacrifice to be in vain. If it hadn't been for that, she could have easily left Jewel in the care of whoever held her prisoner.

Thanks to the acute hearing she possessed when assuming the form of a Barn Owl, she triangulated the area where the screams came from with ease. With that knowledge, it became easier to find her way and avoid any problems that might get in the way. She made her way to the area, a bay where countless caverns were located, although most of them were submerged by the water. Being a hagsfiend before anything else, she was still slightly afraid of water so she tried her best to not look at it too much.

She knew she was getting closer when she heard Jewel trying to break free of her captor's grasp. But her numerous attempts were of no avail as she did not seem to successfully get away. Now that she heard Jewel's cries of anger and rage, she knew exactly where to look, so she made a turned to the left and followed that path until she was face to face with someone she didn't want to see anymore; someone that made her gizzard lurch painfully. However, she never had time to do anything as the other hagsfiend's eyes began to glow with an intense yellow light. Before she could do anything to resist his fyngrot, her vision dimmed and eventually, she blacked out.

"You can have the macaw. Our deal is over." That was the last thing Lutta was able to hear before her entire world was taken over by darkness.

—

After sending Nico and Pedro after Jewel and after he heard Jewel's screams, Blu became more and more desperate. After half an hour passed, the two small birds had yet to return so Blu began to lose hope of ever finding the other Spix's Macaw. Desperately trying to find some kind of salvation, Blu began to wander the streets of Rio in an almost empty minded state. Rafael had tried to reassure him that they would find her safe and sound but most of his attempts were blocked by Blu's pessimism.

It was true that at first the two macaws shared their differences such as Jewel being free and Blu being a pet. But as time passed while they were chained to each other, the more Blu became interested in Jewel's character, her attitude was fearsome and at the same time, she was caring. And as more time passed, Blu began to develop deeper feelings for Jewel even if she sometimes rejected his presence. Soon, both became accustomed to the other's personality and it no longer bothered them to have their differences. Well, it depended on the situation. However, that was slightly different for Blu as for him, their relationship was a flourishing one. Indeed, ever since he laid his eyes on Jewel, he had fallen in love with her rapidly.

Unfortunately, Dmitri was far from being delicate with Blu. He had told him to let her go; that there was nothing he could do to help her. He had said that she had made her choice and that, as her friends, they should respect that choice of hers. Such a speech certainly did not help Blu cope with all the recent events. If possible, he would desire nothing more than to start over and do things differently. He may have been a nerd, a bookworm, but that did not stop him from loving another and there was no one who could replace Jewel's presence.

"Come on, Blu. I'm sure we'll find her safe and sound so cheer up already," Rafael told the blue macaw.

"You heard that scream as well as I did, Rafael; it was Jewel's. We don't know what could've happened to her, not down here and even if I wanted to go where she is, I can't fly," replied Blu in a most melancholic voice.

"Raffy, Raffy!" called a voice all too familiar to the three birds, especially for Blu and Rafael.

"So, guys! Any news about Jewel?" Blu rushed Nico and Pedro as they arrived.

"You won't believe this!" exclaimed Nico.

And then, the two small birds explained what they saw near that bay. About Kurth working in cahoots with Nigel. They also informed them that Kurth had captured Lutta for something they couldn't figure. Still, they told them that Jewel was now in Nigel's custody and probably en route for whatever means of transport the smugglers would use. As they had predicted, the three birds, Dmitri included, had a hard time believing that Kurth would start working with the likes of Nigel.

"Are you sure about what you saw, you two?" Rafael asked, somewhat doubtful of some elements in Nico and Pedro's story.

"Yeah, we saw Jewel strugglin' to break free of the hold Kurth's foot had on her neck. Then, when he took care of Lutta, he just threw Jewel at Nigel and he disappeared with her," Pedro said.

"Why didn't you follow either one of them?" Blu queried.

"You should have seen the talons those guys had, the only sight of 'em was enough to scare us to death," Nico answered. "so we figured we'd come and tell you what happened."

"But then, I'm the one to blame for her misfortune... if I hadn't told her about Michael and all of that, she would still be with us right now. It's my entire fault!"

Hey, hey! You've got nothing to blame yourself for. You did the right thing. But if you continue beating yourself down, it's going to be hard to save Jewel. After all, she's not going to save herself," Rafael said.

"Yeah, he's right, y'know. Without your wits, savin' Jewel's gonna get really hard," Pedro told Blu.

Realizing that they were right, Blu began to break free from his shell of pessimism and began to gain hope that there was still time to save Jewel. Inspired and determined, he said, "Thanks guys! You're right. Now, let's go; we've a bird to save!"

"Now that's the Blu I know!" Nico let out, cheerfully.

"Hey, you two. Need a lift?" Luiz asked while he was in his costume for Carnival, a quite silly one at that.

Although his costume was really unoriginal, the hat of fruits he had on his head could very well serve as transport for Dmitri and Blu. Naturally, Blu accepted the dog's offer. However, Dmitri was rather reluctant, arguing that he would be better off alone for the days to come so he could rest his broken wing. Blu insisted otherwise and after several minutes of argumentation, Dmitri yielded and went along with the group.

"I'll get you for that later, Blu."

"By the way, Dmitri, you never told us where you hail from. In case I never mentioned before, I'm from Moose Lake, Minnesota, in the United States," Blu revealed.

"I vas hoping ve could avoid zis question but if you vant to know, I am from ze USSR," answered Dmitri.

"Good one, Dmitri," Blu laughed, wholeheartedly. "but that can't be."

"Excuse us, but what's that USSR he's talkin' about?" Pedro asked.

"It's a union that stopped existing over thirty years ago. There's no way he could be from there and even if he were, his looks resemble mine, which would make him about fifteen years old. With that age, there is no way he could be from the USSR," Blu explained.

"Zis must feel confusing and I vas as confused as you are when I remembered my past. Believe it or not, I vas frozen in time until very recently. I zink I vas taken by smugglers for my rarity."

"I don't know, all of this seems a little farfetched," said Rafael.

"Yeah, he's got a point there. How can anyone, human or bird, be frozen in time for that long?" asked Nico.

"Cryopreserrvation, that's how. Am I right, Dmitri?"

"I don't know if zat's the real name but you sound the closest, Blu," Dmitri spoke.

"Now, would you mind telling us how you managed to survive through Kurth?" Rafael inquired.

"He may have been a born killer, but vere I came from, I vas trained to have no feelings at all on ze battlefield. Ven it comes to survival, I have no equals."

"What about his fyngrot, man? How'd you survive through that?" Pedro queried.

"Ja, he got me by surprise ze first time but I eventually broke free of zat 'fyngrot'' of his."

"But why did you tell me that I'd be better off without Jewel. It sounded a little harsh," Blu commented.

"Like I said, I have been trained to show no emotions during battles but it also affected my ability to show zem ven not in battles. Zis is ze vay I am, Blu," explained Dmitri.

"That I can understand but maybe you could try seeing things my way for once. Looking out of the frame once in a while can't possibly hurt anyone," Blu told the black and red macaw.

"Maybe I could but for now, ve need to concentrate on ze task at hand."

"Alright, boys! We're getting near the parade. The three of us are going to scout ahead for Jewel," said Rafael before he, Pedro and Nico took off to search for any trace of Jewel.

"Got it, just be careful out there."

"Vat now, Blu? Ve can't go charging blindly into zeir playground. Ve don't know vat to expect from zem."

"I know what you mean but we've come too far now to back away. I won't let Jewel go, I've already lost her once and I couldn't bear to lose her a second time," said Blu.

"You remind me of myself before I vas frozen. Back zen, I loved a macaw but I was forced to see her death before my very eyes, as ze killer. In any case, ve should not let ourselves be haunted by our past. If ve do, ve von't be able to move towards ze future."

"Good advice, pal. But you may want to hold that thought because we're gettin' in the action!" Luiz let out as got in the parade.

Dmitri was about to say something else but when Luiz suddenly turned from one side to another and nearly threw the black and red macaw off his back. Hopefully, Blu was there to stop him from falling off by grabbing his feet with his own. After thanking Blu in an almost incomprehensible way, Dmitri climbed back on Luiz's back and grasped on tightly to the dog's back. After that little event, Dmitri managed to stay on Luiz even though he moved quite often from one side to another in order to evade the parade's attendant.

As Blu still held a strong faith about finding Jewel safe and sound, he felt that he was getting closer and closer to where Jewel was. Dmitri didn't share the same opinion but instead of just saying it out loud like before, he instead kept it for himself so he would not crush Blu's morale once more. It felt strange to the black and red macaw but whenever he was close to Blu, he felt as if his mind was light, free. It was as if he didn't have to worry about anything and that everything would be alright. It seemed to him as if Blu's spirit was engulfing his own; appeasing him somehow.

Eventually, both Blu and Dmitri were thrown off Luiz's back by a human in a crocodile costume. Blu was caught by surprise while Dmitri remained stoic. Soon after that, the blue macaw called the black and red one and pointed a skateboard in the distance that the other humans used. Unsure about his plan, Dmitri was strongly against the idea and refused on many occasions. Even with Blu's strong arguments, the black and red macaw remained against that idea.

"Come on, I know how to use this thing," Blu said, trying to convince Dmitri.

"I told you, zis is too dangerous to try and ve could get seriously injured."

"There isn't much time left and Luiz is too busy scaring the humans to pick us up. If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it."

"Fine, but I varned you about zis," Dmitri said, admitting defeat.

"Quick, we can't lose any more time. Climb on!"

Nodding, Dmitri climbed on the skateboard that Blu intended to use and in a flash, Blu was already steering the skateboard through the huge crowd attending the parade. As Blu and Dmitri remarked, the two accomplices Marco, the boss of the smugglers, had were total idiots so finding their vehicle, assuming that they'd use the parade to get away with all the birds, including Jewel. If they wanted to find them, as Dmitri hinted, they should look for the most clichéd vehicle in all the parade's floats. Of course, that really left them with few choices as most of the floats were incredibly creative and original.

However, out of them all was one float that didn't seem to blend with the rest of the parade's ambiance. Blu instantly guessed that it had to be the vehicle they were searching for. Dmitri had his doubts but for once, he listened to Blu's hunch. He still asked the blue macaw how he planned to enter the vehicle and just as he finished his question, Dmitri was given an answer to his query. Blu told him that he needed him to trust him. The black and red macaw nodded to show his support but he still wondered what Blu was up to. He didn't have much time to do so as he saw what Blu was thinking to use to reach the smugglers' vehicle.

"Steady, steady. Now! Aim for the white car!" exclaimed Blu as the two macaw were thrown forward because of an attendant's foot stepping on the far end of the skateboard.

At first, Dmitri thought that they wouldn't make it to the car but once again, Blu's faith proved him wrong as they both grabbed onto the sheet that covered the smugglers' car. They then proceeded into entering the car through a window present in the door at the back of the car. For some reason, Dmitri had a bad feeling about all that but he just couldn't figure out what troubled him.

Upon entering, they saw Jewel in a cage alone but what Dmitri noticed that Blu didn't at first was that Rafael, Nico and Pedro were also in a cage. As he saw this, he began to realize that maybe the whole thing was just a trap to catch the two remaining Spix's Macaws that escaped the smugglers. When he saw Jewel in the cage, Blu hurried to that specific cage and tried to pick it open with one of his claw. Dmitri tried to understand what the blue macaw was trying to achieve by using his claw in such a way. It was a good way to injure himself but before he could ask anything, he felt a presence near them.

"Blu, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!" Jewel let out on a whisper, somehow angry against Blu.

"Don't worry, Jewel. I'm going to get you out of there."

"Be careful, Blu. Zere is someone else here vith us," Dmitri said as he took a defensive stance.

"Don't worry about me, Blu. Save yourself while you still can."

But before Blu could even do anything else to help Jewel or himself, he was thrown inside a cage by a familiar white cockatoo. Dmitri was out of his field of vision at first so he tried to remain hidden through the whole deal but unfortunately, Nigel ended up finding the black and red macaw. Before Dmitri could run off or fight against Nigel, he was also thrown in the same cage as Blu. They then saw Nigel lock the cage and break the key to the lock in two. Blu looked at Jewel momentarily and then looked at the ground, slightly ashamed of his attempt to rescue Jewel.

"Don't blame yourself. You did what you thought was right and I'm thankful for that," Jewel told Blu.

"Thanks Jewel. At least, we'll be together until the end."

"Wait, is that Dmitri? Wasn't he dead?" Jewel queried as she noticed Dmitri in Blu's cage.

"No, I survived Kurth's assaults. He got my ving but I vounded one of his eyes," replied Dmitri.

"But why are you in that cage if you worked with Nigel and the smugglers?"

"I never vorked vith them. All of zat vas to see vat vas vrong vith Kurth. I saw his first transformation into a hagsfiend back in ze rainforest before he left alone after trying to kill you," explained Dmitri.

"In any case, what's going to happen to us?" Blu inquired.

"Considering our rarity, I'd said we'll get sold to some total stranger and stripped of our freedom," said Jewel.

"Don't be so negative. I'm sure we'll find a solution before that," Blu told Jewel.

"What about you, Dmitri? Where do you stand in all of this?" Jewel asked the black and red Spix's Macaw.

"I'll side vith Blu. His luck and optimism seems to prevail most of ze time. He proved me vrong on many occasions."

"I hope you two are right..."

—

Lutta was starting to wake up. Her memories of the previous hours were really blurry. She had trouble remembering what had happened during that time. All that she was able to remember was that she was face to face with Kurth before everything went blank. From there, she had completely lost track of everything after that. But most of all, she wondered where she was. After her world went black, who knows where Kurth could have brought her.

Finally, she realized that she was inside a cave. Where it was located, she had no idea once again. What alarmed her greatly was the sound of an owl's talons hitting rock. She turned her head around to see who was approaching and as she expected, it was none other than Kurth. She hissed at him and took a defensive position before he could anywhere near her. Unlike what she had planned, he did not return the hiss or any kind of threat display for that matter.

"What do you want?" She asked, hints of venom notable in her voice. "And where are we?"

"Why, don't you remember anything?" Kurth replied with a somewhat jesting tone.

"No because you cast you darn fyngrot on me. Now, answer me! What exactly happened?"

"We mated, of course. And you liked it you much, you kept begging for more."

"Why you little...! Tell me the truth, now! And spare me with your jests!" Lutta burst in anger.

"But I am telling you the truth, my dear. We mated and you absolutely enjoyed it and so did I."

"I told you to stop playing with my mind! Just tell me the truth already!"

"Delve into those sweet memories of yours and try to find out the answer for yourself, my dead Lutta."

And that's exactly what Lutta did. She calmed herself a little, even if it was true that Kurh was in front of her, and began to search through her memories for the events that were missing from her recollection of the events. At first, she didn't find any particular events apart from the part that Kurth had abducted her but as she delved deeper and deeper into her mind, she found out some things she would have preferred to avoid.

It was true! What Kurth had told her were all truths. From the back of her memories, she started to remember what Kurth had done to her. He was right. All along, Lutta had been refusing to listen to the truth but now, she knew that there was no running away anymore. She would only deny herself further instead of helping herself. In the current situation, there were not much choices available to her. She could run away from the truth and try to forget everything that happened. She could also decide to stay with Kurth since there seemed to be no escaping him. Or as a last choice, she could fight against all of this and carry out the task that Michael left her; deal and stop Kurth no matter the outcome.

In the end, she chose to defy fate and decided to fight Kurth and stop him from committing any more evil acts. And to do that, she would have to use her own nachtmagen against the hagsfiend standing in front of her.

"You may be right but be sure that I will not let your actions go unpunished. You will pay for your sons and what you did to me and my friends!" exclaimed Lutta.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try! Your nachtmagen is puny against mine. I was able to obtain Kreeth's book and its unlimited knowledge! You cannot hope to best me, the supreme hagsfiend!" Kurth let out in a maniacal laugh.

"I'm sorry Kurth but you have to be stopped."

"And how exactly do you plan to stop me? You don't possess a morsel of the power I do!"

"This is where you're wrong, Kurth! I was revived five years ago by Michael and Glaux and during that time, I was able to obtain access to the Book of Kreeth. After all those years, I too have the knowledge that book had to offer."

Just a Kurth's eyes started to widen, Lutta's eyes began to glow with the familiar yellow light of the fyngrot. But unlike Kurth, Lutta only used her fyngrot to get Kurth out of that cave and once outside, she began to cast various spells she learned from the Book of Kreeth. Even if it was night time, the sky began to darken until it was nearly pitch black. Rain drops began to fall from the cloud covering the starry skies and soon after them, lightning bolts began to crash down randomly. And those were just a display of Lutta's abilities.

For a short moment, Lutta was sure that she saw Kurth wilf in front of her nachtmagen but if that was the case, it was only short lived as Kurth began using his own nachtmagen. Trying to threaten his fellow hagsfiend, he several blades of wind that eventually joined together and formed a small tornado. To Kurth's surprised, Lutta dispelled it and brought on hail, but only in their location.

"This is where it ends, Kurth," said Lutta in a very cold voice.

"Oh but it's just begun, my dear. I didn't want to hurt you at first but now you've angered me," replied Kurth as he began to use his fyngrot.

"This won't work again, you damn fool!"

All of a sudden, a lightning bolt crashed down from the sky just in front on Kurth, momentarily blinding him, ruining his attempt to use his fyngrot on Lutta for a second time. He didn't want to admit it but Lutta was probably stronger than he was. And even if she wasn't, her power matched his, something he thought would never happen. He wondered how that was. However, he was forced out of his thoughts when Lutta tried to inflict him a wound with her talons.

"Your power is impressive, that much I can admit. However, unlike you, my heart is strong and that's what separates us. You fight for yourself and I fight for others, even those that have yet to be born. Now come, it is time to finally end this. Tonight, one is us shall die here. Let us test our worth against each other," Lutta told Kurth.

—

**So, how'd you guys like that. The finale is nearing and then I can stop making such annoying cliffies, hehe. Kidding, I have a sequel in mind, a more peaceful one though. Now, please leave your creative/constructive/positive/negative reviews in the section reserved for them and with that said, I bid you people farewell until my next chapter. See, I changed my pen name to my original one, LordChronicler46 so if you wanted it back, rejoice.****  
><strong>LordChronicler46, signing out.<strong>**

**P.S. I found out about a monstrosity, if you can agree with me on that and if you can't I fully respect you not matter the case unless you insult me directly, called the Jesses Awards. I find them plain unfair and they should honestly disappear from this world. And besides, the entry violates nearly every possible guidelines set here on FF and I revere those guidelines as sacred.**


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